


Dress

by Writerforquinn



Category: Impractical Jokers
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-09-07 16:09:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 33
Words: 66,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16857157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writerforquinn/pseuds/Writerforquinn
Summary: Q and the Impractical Jokers’ tour manager don’t get along. What happens when you have two people who are so alike but also so different and have them work so closely with one another?Collaboration with @hopedanglesonastring





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hi All, new BQ story for you all. I am working with another writer @hopedanglesonastring  so be sure to give her some love as well!!

Chapter 1: Our Secret Moments in a Crowded Room 

 

"Did I just hear you say I'm the female version of Murr?" Maren's head snapped up out of her phone in Quinn's direction.

Sal was already doubled over in laughter and Murr was throwing his hands up in the air as if to say "victory".

"I mean, what a complement Mar" Murr shrieked a little too excited, but realizing it wasn't exactly meant as a compliment. The joke wasn't lost on anyone who heard.

It was a rare moment of Q socializing on the tour bus with everyone. Usually secluded to his bunk, this morning he was seated in the kitchen area with the others.

"What makes you say that" Maren asked, half annoyed and half pissed at herself for feeding into his bullshit.

Fact is, for the two years she's been the guys Tour Manager, Q and her were hardly close. They just butt heads. Two very different people who didn't realize they actually did have a lot in common.

"Sure did" he said, not looking up from his phone. "You're opinionated, have a stick up your ass, loves attention, always on social media, annoying as fuck sometimes, will go out of her way to prove she's right and comes off as a jerk most of the time" Q said, that last part looking up from his phone, smirking proudly of himself. Maren was sure she saw him wink a little also, as if to endear himself.

"Hey hey, I don't have a stick up my ass" Murr quipped back.

"True" Quinn said, "That one was specifically for Mar". Again, same sarcastic smirk.

Mar rolled her eyes and turned back to her phone.

"Kids kids, too early for so much love, please" Joe said, walking up as the scene unfolded.

"Yes, Quinn, always a pleasure when you decide to burrow out of your cave" Mar said as she grabbed her phone and a water and walked back to the one big bedroom at the back of the bus that all the guys agreed from the get go should be hers.

"Put the phone down by the way, he's not going to respond" Q shouted as she walked away. And there it was. What really got under her skin.

Truthfully, being around 4 middle aged men who act like 12 year olds for a living, you have to have thick skin to take the ribbings. "Be one of the boys" as they say. She had no family left and certainly hadn't spent any time around 4 middle aged men before this job, so she had to adapt real quick. But "he", "he" was her Achilles heel.

She shot back a nasty look in his direction, part anger and part sadness.

"Yo, easy.. who pissed in your corn flakes this am" said Sal. The other guys all were focused on him as the bedroom door slammed.  
Q looked up at all the eyes focused on him "What?" He shrugged it off. "It's for her own good. She needs to grow a pair and stop letting this guy dick her around. She knows I mean well." They all shrugged it off as he had a point.

Behind the bedroom door, Maren threw her phone down on the full sized bed and plopped down on it as well, face down as a few tears escaped her eyes. He was right, and she knew it. She also hated it. Right then a text sounded and she lunged for the phone hoping it was "him".

"Chin up baby girl, you know we all love you" texted Joe. Wasn't who she was hoping it would be, but still made her smile nonetheless. 

Joe was a gentle soul. They both had lost parents young and when you share that with someone it creates a unique bond. "Dead mothers club" as morbid as it sounds, but it's true. The four jokers and her were family albeit an unconventional one. Regardless of the arguments and disagreements here and there, they would always have her back and defend her, even Q,and vice versa. However she had the closest bond with Joe and his family, often spending holidays with them as she really did have no one else.

Maren pulled out her work folio and started going over the list of accommodations and requests, wondering if she messed up on something of Q's, which would have explained the wrath he implored on her. But nope, she didn't. She did however understand, because that was one of the things they did have in common. They both were moody and when they both were moody at the same time, it wasn't fun being around either of them. So she let it go. She knew she'd have her bad day or mood eventually too and it would be someone else's morning she'd shit on.

"Would you two just bang already and get it over with" Murr said to Quinn with his arms above his arms crossed above and resting on his head. This comment prompted eye rolls from Q as he stood up "Well, that's enough social hour for me" he said in a huff "Two years, you'd think you guys would move on to something else already" he said referring to the guys always making this same comment for two years now since Maren Mulligan was hired as their tour manager.

It was a grueling interview process, and an unlikely choice for the guys to pick a younger female to lead their tour, but her interviews were incredible and she impressed the shit out of everyone, even the girlfriends and wives who questioned their choice of an attractive younger (not by much) female on the road with them for the good part of a year. What Brian failed to mention earlier when he listed off her faults, was the long list of amazing traits. She came highly recommended. Detailed, punctual, intelligent, personable and charismatic were all words used to describe her professionally. She'd fight for you and what you wanted always had your best interests ahead of hers. She was selfless and had a big heart, they all knew it from the start. Even Brian.

"We would, if you two would just quit the bullshit already and get together " said Sal, which now prompted a dirty look in his direction from Q. Sal was one of the closest people in his life, so Brian wasn't sure if it irritated him more that there was some truth to what he said, or that after all this time, they still hadn't let it go.


	2. They’ve Got No Idea About Me and You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always work belongs to @hopedanglesonastring just as much as it does to me!

Maren was furious, she came bolting backstage looking for one man. It was only the third night of the tour and she had enough. “You seen Quinn?” She yelled over the loud music and roar of the crowd. 

One of the stage assistants stopped immediately suddenly very intimidated by the usually nice Maren. “Umm..yeah.” He stuttered, “I think he was heading back to the green room.” 

Without even thanking him, she made her way through the hallway. When she reached the door she took a deep breath before barging in. There she saw Q laying on the couch scrolling through his phone. “Seriously?!” She screamed, “Would it fucking kill you to stay out there after the show?!” 

“Would you pipe down? The show was great. What more do you want from me?” Brian responded not even bothering to look up at her. 

Maren was getting beyond frustrated with this man. She reached out, snatched his phone and threw it to the ground. “Excuse me!” Q shouted getting of the couch, “You’re lucky there’s a case on that!” 

“I’ve had it with you!” Maren yelled. She knew part of her was still pissed off about his comment the previous night about her ex not calling her but she was also frustrated by how uninvolved he was with the shows. The other three guys were still on stage taking pictures and signing stuff for fans expect for Q. He never stayed on stage. The second the show was over he quickly booked if off not even bothering to acknowledge any of the people that paid good money to see them. 

“You’ve had it with me?!” Brian laughed sarcastically. “I’m not the one that came barging in here yelling and screaming like a psycho.” 

Maren instantly saw red. That word was a huge trigger for her and Q knew it. Her ex used to call her psycho all the time and every time she heard it, it always brought her back to such bad memories. “You are such a spoiled asshole Q. I don’t understand why every show you have to leave so quickly. Is your time so precious you can’t sacrifice 5 minutes?” 

“I was on stage for 90, isn’t that enough!?” Q yelled back. 

“Don’t you pay attention to the internet? The number one thing people complain about is the fact that you won’t stay and engage with anyone. It’s rude Q!” 

“Oh for Christ Sakes Mar, you really need to stay off social media. You are obsessed.” Brian responded rolling his eyes. 

“It’s my job you moron!” She cried out, “I’m the tour manager, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t pay attention to your fans.” 

“Listen this is my job and when I’m done with my job, just like everyone else, I don’t need to stick around, so will you please get off my fucking back!” Q said in a very annoyed tone. Sometimes this woman was worse than any broad he had ever been with in his life. 

“Awe...poor Q.” Maren pouted, “Must be so hard to be famous and have so many people love you.” 

“You tryin’ be funny?!” Q snapped. “Live one goddamn day in my shoes baby!” 

“If it’s so tough being you then why don’t you just quit. Clearly you feel above all these people who spend their hard earned money to come see you.” Maren said. 

“Oh trust me just the thought of not having to deal with your attitude everyday definitely makes it tempting.” He barked back at her. 

Truth was fame was never anything Brian Quinn ever wanted. When him and the guys pitched the show all he wanted was to sell the rights, never actually star in it. When the other three talked him into it, he thought it would just be a one season thing. Now years later and there were no signs of slowing down, in fact it seemed to be getting more and more popular with each passing season. Quitting and returning to the fire department was always a thought but doing that would mean letting his friends down and putting all of the crew out of jobs. 

“You’re such an asshole!” Maren shouted, “You act like such a fucking child.”

“Me?!” Q laughed, “I’m not the one stomping my feet and crossing my arms because I’m not getting my way.” He said pointing out how she was standing before him. 

As they continued the fight they were eventually interrupted, “Hey hey!” Joe yelled over them. “Enough!” 

“What is it this time?!” Sal added. 

“Talk to her, just being her normal bitchy self having to lecture me every goddamn second.” Q responded sharply. 

“Q man, come on. That’s not nice.” Murray said. “Why can’t you both just get along?” 

“You know what I don’t even care anymore.” Maren said giving up, “We gotta be back on the bus in 30 minutes so we can get on the road.” She then turned on her heels leaving the Jokers. Maren needed some distance right now if she was gonna be stuck on a bus with this guy all night. 

“I’m gonna go check on her.” Sal said going after her but not before shooting Q a dirty look.   
________________________________  
It was a long bus ride but in a couple hours everyone would finally be able to get out and stretch when they hit Cincinnati. Q and Maren hadn’t spoken much but were acting civil to each other this morning. The tension was still present but they weren’t arguing so everyone was thankful for that at least.

Q laid stretched out in his bunk on his phone. He smirked to himself when he got an incoming text. “Mar!” He yelled sticking his head out looking for her.

“What Q?” She responded looking up from her planner book. 

“Make sure when we get to the hotel, the front desk leaves a second key for Hailee.” He said. 

“Yup.” She responded. When Q retreated back into his bunk, Maren looked at Sal and rolled his eyes. Sal smiled knowing exactly what she was thinking and honestly if he was being honest, he shared her feelings. 

Hailee Waterman was an aspiring actress Q had known for a couple years. She wasn’t even 25 and in Maren’s opinion may be the most irritating person on the planet. Q would fly her out to different cities from time to time and they would spend all day cooped up in a hotel room until the shows at night. Everyone knew she was using Q to hopefully make connections in the industry, even Q knew that which was why he never brought her to events. She was using him for her career and he was using her for sex. 

It wouldn’t be so bad but she was a complete space cadet and it was near impossible to carry an intelligent conversation with the girl. Not to mention when the boys were on stage, Maren was expected to play babysitter and keep her company backstage. 

Maren glanced down at her planner, “10 more days.” She whispered to herself praying this tour would hurry up and finish already.


	3. There’s an Indentation in the Shape of You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by the talented ‘hopedanglesonastring’.

Maren groaned at the sound the hotel phone ringing. It was entirely too early. The first of 3 shows went off without a hitch last night in Cincinnati, so she was hoping everyone would be sleeping in a little.

“Hello,” she spoke barely audible as she picked up the phone.

“Morning Sunshine,” came Joe’s way to chipper voice.

“Why are you up this early? And more importantly, calling me,” she asked not joking around.

“Kids, Mully. I have kids. I rise when the sun does.” Joe responded with a small laugh.

“Well I don’t have kids Joe, so I’m going back to sleep,”Maren yawned into the phone, ready to lower the receiver and roll back over.

“Ah, I disagree, my dear, for the next 9 days, you do. You have us!” he said laughing.

Maren rolled her eyes and smiled. He was right. Before she responded he started speaking again.

“It’s 7:30, I know it’s early now, but I was hoping you and I could grab breakfast around 9 or 10? Sound good?” Joe asked.

“Sure, I’ll meet you downstairs at the restaurant.” Maren said through a yawn.

“Perfect, now go back to sleep” he said and hung up.

She smiled to herself and rolled over to get comfortable in her bed again when a knock sounded at the door. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me”, she said as she rubbed her eyes and stood up from the cozy hotel bed. When she peaked through the peephole, she threw her head back and rubbed her hand against her forehead. 

“Seriously” she rolled her eyes to herself as she turned the doorknob handled and pretended to put on her best fake smile.

“Maaaarreen”, exclaimed Hailee, with way too much enthusiasm and spunk for this early in the am. Standing there in her hotel room doorway, was Ms. Space Cadet herself. Dressed in yoga pants and a pullover, sports bra peaking through, was all 5’9 of her. Blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, face full of makeup and gloss on her pouty lips. You’d think she just stepped off a photo shoot for a workout magazine. 

“Sooo good to see you again girl! I hope you don’t mind, Brian gave me your room number” Hailee went on, not letting Maren get a word in edgewise. It was then that Maren noticed a suit bag in Hailees hand.

“Of course he did!” Maren said cheerfully but dripping with sarcasm that Hailee didn’t detect, she just kept talking. 

“Could you be a doll and see that my dress gets dry cleaned before tonight’s show?! Brian said you’d be able to take care of it” she said as she shoved the suit bag across the doorway into Marens hand.

“Of course he did” was all Maren could manage to say again with a smile. “No problem Hailee, I’d be happy to take care of this for you” Maren spoke through clenched teeth. Her cheeks were starting to hurt from the fake smile plastered on her face.

“Maren you are just the absolute best!! Are you feeling ok tho? You look kinda worn out. Do you wanna come with me to the hotels yoga class?! Looks like you could use it!” Hailee said her voice now a little lower as she sipped her coffee.

Maren wasn’t sure if this was a thinly veiled diss on her, but she had had enough of Hailee already this am. “Thanks but I’m good. Enjoy, I’ll get this dress back to you soon. Bye” Maren said and immediately shut the door. She dropped the suit bag on the floor and crawled back into bed, annoyed. 

She wanted to text or call Brian and lay into him. She was THEIR tour manager, not hers. But what was the point. Brian would get his way.

Failing to get comfortable at this point Maren decided to go for a run. She got dressed and put on her running shoes and headed towards the elevator with the suit bag in hand. She’s drop it off at the dry cleaners she say nearby the hotel.

Once inside the elevator, it stops three floors down. The doors open and in walks Murr, with his phone in his hand.

“Maren” he says excitedly always a smile on his face. 

“Hi James, where are you off too?” Maren said leaning against the elevator wall, suit bag folded over her hand.

“I have a conference call with my publisher, gonna take it outside. What’s in the bag?” He said, eye brow raised motioning his coffee cup toward the bag.

Rolling her eyes, she sighed “Hailee’s dress. She asked me to get it dry cleaned”.

Murr’s eyebrows shot up as he let out a slight chuckle. “Wow.. that’s.. ballsy. Here, gimme it, I’ll drop it at the cleaners for you.”

Maren smiled, James was the absolute sweetest. 

“It’s ok, the cleaners is right outside, it’s on my way. No worries I got it. Thank you though my friend, you’re the best.. no matter what they say” she winked at him.

“No Mar, I insist, I’ll handle it.” he smiled as he took the bag from her.

“Really, it’s ok, but thank you James, for always being so kind and for being a great friend”. She pecked his check with a kiss as the elevator doors opened.

“Anything for you, you know that” he said as they both walked out the elevator. “Enjoy your run.” 

She headed towards the door and put her earbuds into her ears. She started off towards the park and let the music and lyrics flow through her head. She tried to let go, but it’s was hard for her to shut her brain off.

 

____________________________________

“I want you Brian,” she purred softly as her hand gently made its way down his jeans, in between his legs. 

Brian’s eyes were shut, he was breathing deeply, but could feel the moan escape his lips. 

“Don’t you want me too Brian.. kiss me”, she cooed, softly running her tongue up the side of his face. Brian moved his hands up her body, over the lacy bra that was embelllished with spiders that copper her breasts, hands resting around her neck, and leaned in to kiss her. “‘Mmm Maren ..” was the last part he remembered

His phone vibrating on the nightstand jolted him out of his slumber. He sat up in the bed, a thin sheet of sweat beaded over him. He looked around the room, and tried to piece together what was going on. He noticed Hailees suitcase and leaned back against the headboard. Hands on this forehead.

“Shit. Did I just.. was that Mar?!” He shook his head confused as he saw a note on the pillow next to him from Hailee explaining she iwas going to an early yoga class. Leaning over her grabbed his cellphone off the nightstand and checked his messages.

There was a text from Sal. “You up? Saw Hailee in the lobby going to workout, so I’m assuming your workout is over?” Brian put the round back down and headed towards the bathroom. He turned the shower on as hot as it would go and got in. He winced a bit as he noticed a few bite marks and scratches on his shoulders. Gifts from Hailee. He leaned his head against the wall and thought about why he was having a sex dream about Maren. He sighed as he turned off the water


	4. Made Your Mark on Me, A Golden Tattoo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co written with hopedanglesonastring

"Briaaan!!" Hailee whined from the bathroom.

 

"Oh for Christ Sakes." He mumbled under his breath. If there was one thing he hated most in this world it was a whiner. "What's wrong?" He asked coming closer to the bathroom door. Stepping back when it swung open and a very furious Hailee emerged.

 

"Look at this!" She shouted pointing at the side of her dress. "It has a giant fucking bleach stain on it!" She shrieked.

 

"It's not that bad." Brian lied. Honestly it was pretty noticeable but he would say anything to get her to shut up.

 

"Not that bad?!" She cried out, "Are you insane, look! Brand new dress and it's ruined. That fucking assistant you have is so stupid, I don't know why you haven't fired her yet!"

 

Brian rubbed his head, feeling a headache coming on, "How many times do I have to tell you, she's my tour manager, not my assistant." Brian sighed. He had sent Hailee to Maren's room this morning just as a joke. He knew she would do it even though dry cleaning was certainly not in her job description.

 

"Well if she can't even get a simple dry cleaning request right, I can't believe you actually trust her with your tour!" Hailee snapped now trying to tear through her luggage for something else to wear.

 

"Hailee she didn't personally wash the damn thing! All she did was drop it off." Brian defended, "If it will make you feel better, I'll call the dry cleaners back and make them pay for the dress."

 

"Even though the dress was $500 that's not the point, now I have nothing to wear to your show tonight and I just wanted to look hot for you." She pouted like a five year old.

 

"You paid $500 for a dress?" Brian asked even more annoyed now. Hailee's family was big in finance and she was constantly getting money from her dad to buy senseless shit. He always found it funny though, all the money in the world and her daddy still couldn't buy her an acting career. You could buy a lot of things in this world, but talent wasn't one of them.

 

"I'm sure you have 9 other dresses in that suitcase." Brian responded then was interrupted by a text.

 

Maren: Gotta get going soon guys, be in the lobby in 30 minutes.

 

It was a text to him and the other three Jokers. He along with the others quickly responded. "I'm gonna have to go shopping and find something else." Hailee said after being unsuccessful looking through her bags.

 

"We have to be in car in a half hour, you don't have time to go shopping." Brian snapped.

 

"Then I'll just have to take a car over to the arena myself. I have to look my best for my man." She smiled kissing him on the lips.

 

Brian rolled his eyes at the comment, he most certainly did not belong to her and never gave her to idea that he did. Piece of good looking ass that was willing to do anything he wanted in bed, that was it. "Can't wait to have this later." She whispered as she grabbed his cock over his jeans. "I'll see you soon baby." She said kissing him once more and making her way out the door.

 

Once he knew she was gone he collapsed on the bed rubbing his hands through his hair. "Sex ain't that fucking good." He said out loud to the empty room.

_______________________________

"Woah." Murray exclaimed, eyes bulging from his head when security escorted Hailee backstage. She was wearing a short skin tight white dress that dipped so low in the front, gravity just wasn't making sense as to how her boobs weren't out.

 

"Hope everyone didn't miss me too much." She smiled walking into the room.

 

Sal and Joe exchanged glances, the girl was annoying, desperate, and so many other ridiculous adjectives. She turned when she heard the door open and Brian walk in, "There's my baby!" She squeaked. "I missed you." She said sweetly.

 

"Hey." Brian smiled, "That's ummm..some dress sweetheart." He then noticed Murray stare a little too long and made sure to kick him under the table.

 

"I can't wait to get you back to the hotel tonight baby. You look so hot." She said taking a seat on his lap.

 

Maren made her way through the backstage area doing her final checks and decided now was a good time to check on the guys. She didn't even enter the room yet and she already heard that annoying voice from this morning. "Here we fucking go." She said under her breath as she opened the door to the guys' dressing room.

 

When she walked in she saw Joe,Murr, and Sal trying to have a normal conversation and ignore the fact that Hailee and Brian were making out in the corner. She was wearing a super short dress and was sitting on his lap sucking on his face. Maybe the other guys were able to sit here and watch this but Maren sure wasn't. "Don't you guys have a hotel room for that shit." She snapped.

 

The pair immediately broke apart. "Sorry." Hailee laughed, "He's just so fucking hot, makes me crazy sometimes."

 

"Right." Maren responded with a less than impressed tone and eye roll, "But we all just ate so we would appreciate it if you could somehow control yourself."

 

Maren took a seat next to Sal and leaned in, "Unbelievable, she's not even wearing underwear." She whispered.

 

"How do you know she's not..." He asked as he looked over, "Woah!" He exclaimed when he noticed Hailee with her legs uncrossed and a straight view of her vagina. Sal immediately turned beet red and turned away causing Maren to snicker.

________________________________

Back at the hotel that night and after some pretty wild sex, Hailee decided to ruin the night and bring up staying another night. This was already her second night and quite frankly that was enough.

 

"You are so fucking stupid. After how good I suck your dick, you should be begging me to stay!" She yelled as she gathered her stuff.

 

Brian laid in bed watching her scramble around. "You know it was only for two nights. Stop overreacting! I have your ticket booked for the morning." He reminded her.

 

"I'll change it." She responded.

 

"We'll be back on the bus tomorrow, you can't come with Hailee." He argued. "Now stop being unreasonable."

 

"Unreasonable?! You wanna see unreasonable?!" She yelled then picked up a lamp chucking it against the wall. Quickly grabbing her bags, she headed out the door slamming it behind her.

 

"Psycho!" Brian yelled after her. He flipped on the TV laying in bed for a few. After growing tired of this he shut it off and grabbed his boots. He wasn't sticking around here.

_____________________________

"Grey Goose martini, very dry please." Maren ordered from the hotel bartender.

 

Usually Maren liked to be in bed right after the shows but for some reason today, she was very on edge and couldn't pinpoint why. She figured a nice drink would help calm her down.

 

She grabbed her tablet and scrolled through her to do list for the reminder of the tour. Even when they returned to New York, the guys were jammed packed. Things just didn't seem to be slowing down for them at all. When she was out to breakfast with Joe this morning, he kept saying how Bessy had been on him lately for working so much. He missed Remo's first steps last month and that was really bothering him.

 

She placed her tablet down, focusing on work was not going to calm her down so very quietly she sat and people watched as she sipped her drink. Many were finishing their drinks and heading for the elevators. There were several couples that were scattered around the bar, leaning in close to one another, they all looked so in love. She couldn't help but think how badly she wanted that; someone to love, someone to love her.

 

After taking the last few sips of her martini, Maren decided to call it a night. She had to be up early and gather up her zoo, that were better known as the Impractical Jokers. Suddenly the bartender came over setting another martini in front of her. "Oh no, I only wanted one." She said stopping him.

 

"Gentleman over there insisted." He replied pointing to the end of the bar.

 

"Huh?" Maren questioned looking over and seeing none other than Brian Quinn.

 

He smiled softly as he made his way over to her holding a glass that she could only assume was Jameson, his poison of choice. "Cheers." He said clinking his glass against hers.

 

"Thanks Quinn." She replied taking a sip from her new drink. "Where's Malibu Barbie? Figured you both would be keeping the entire 8th floors awake all night." She commented regretting saying it afterwards since it made her sound jealous.

 

"Last I saw of her, she was calling me a piece of shit and storming out of my room with all her shit." He answered. "Oh that reminds me, hotel is probably gonna send a bill for a broken lamp that she tried to take my head off with." He chuckled.

 

"Brian Quinn, forever the charmer." Maren laughed. "If I'm being honest, I'm kinda relieved, she drives me nuts."

 

"Wanna hear a secret?" Brian asked, "Me too."

 

"Then why do you bother with her?" She asked.

 

"She's good for a fun couple nights, but that's it." He answered.

 

"Don't you get tired of it?" She questioned and not being a bitch, but just because she was honestly very interested in how this man's brain worked. When he shrugged his shoulders she persisted with the questioning, "I'm serious Q. Don't you ever want a life with someone?"

 

"It's all fantasy Mar. You seriously gotta stop reading those romance novels. Life just isn't like that. Believe me, I wasn't always opposed to settling down, but after getting burned one too many times, eventually you gotta wake up."

 

"That's not true." She argued back, "There are plenty of successful relationships. Look at Joe and Bessy and what about your own parents. I know they are still together, aren't they happy?"

 

"Sure, they're happy." He answered, "I'm not saying it's nonexistent, it's just really fucking rare. There's just too much temptation out there for people."

 

"I just think you don't have any faith in people." She commented after taking a sip from her glass.

 

"I have faith in plenty of people. My family, my friends...you." He answered.

 

"Me?!" She exclaimed, "You can't stand me." She laughed.

 

"Oh stop it. So I like to bust your balls, doesn't mean I don't like you. I wouldn't have hired you if I couldn't stand you." He answered with a wink.

 

"You were outvoted." She laughed.

 

"You really need to stop listening to Murray, I was not outvoted." He smiled. "Honestly, you're the only woman I know I can trust."

 

She smiled at the comment, oddly enough Q saying he trusted her meant a lot.

 

"I've finally learned that life is about having fun. You should really start taking my advice and live a little. Mr. Right is not out there waiting to scoop you up on his white horse. You see an opportunity, just fucking take it." Brian said. He then noticed two young women checking him out a few seats down. "Speaking of opportunity, I think I see two right now." He then locked eyes with the two of them.

 

"Have a good night, see ya in the morning." He said to Maren as he wiggled his eyebrows. He then placed some money down to cover their drinks and headed over to strike up a conversation with two gorgeous girls.

 

Maren gulped down her drink as she listened to Brian swoon these two women. She could hear them giggling and hanging on to every word he was saying. As she walked away towards to elevator, she couldn't ditch the gross feeling in the pit of her stomach thinking of Brian taking them back to his room. Why did she care so much?


	5. All of This Silence and Patience, Pining in Anticipation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit to Hopedanglesonastring :)

Maren couldn’t wait to take off her heels, relax in a hot shower and crawl into bed. She was exhausted and confused. The conversation with Quinn replaying over in her head. She sighed and stuck the room key in the door and turned the handle.

It all happened so fast. She wasn’t sure if it was the smell that overtook her, or knowing that it was him that made her head spin. Scattered throughout the room were several vases of long stem red roses. 

Marens mouth dropped open, her purse falling to the floor as she made her way over to the first dozen, hand shaking as she grabbed for the note:

“I miss you. I’m sorry. Please.”

He didn’t sign it, but she knew it was him. 

Her knees became soft like jello and her breathing increasingly becoming frantic. “Shit, no..” she whispered to herself as she grabbed on to the entryway table with both hands. But it was no use. The room starting spinning as tears spilled out of her eyes. Unexplained panic set in as she gulped for air. She lowered herself on to the floor as she shook and crawled backwards up against the wall. 

Maren hadn’t suffered a panic attack in years. It was 2 years in fact, when the love of her life left for work one morning and never came home. The last panic attack she had was so bad, she was hospitalized for it. Depression came not far after, not just because of her ex, Jason, leaving, but from a number of things. Her fairytale blowing up in her face was just the tip of the iceberg. The only joker who knew any of this, was Joe and of course Bessy. She wasn’t ashamed of it, but she was concerned if the others knew it could affect her job and how she was perceived.

Maren looked around the room, trying to get a grip on her breathing. “5 things you can see..” she wheezed thinking of an exercise that used to help. Looking around the room at 5 thing the TV, the bed, the bathroom door, her suitcase, the mini bar. “Good”, she thought to herself. “Now 4 thing you can touch”.. she said, as she still was shaking and gasping for air. She put her hand flat on the carpet, and noticed a rose petal next to her. The tears starting flowing again, and the little bit calm she had just worked towards disappeared. 

“No.. no please stop,” she cried to herself as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and rocked back and forth against the wall. 

She didn’t hear the knock of the door, or hear it open wider, she just stared at the floor, as tears flowed and she gasped for air.

_____________________________

“Have a good night ladies, glad you enjoyed the show,” Brian said to the two girls from the bar as they got out of the elevator at their floor. “Fans,” he laughed to himself under his breath. If there was one bridge Brian Quinn didn’t cross, it was sleeping with fans. 

He turned his attention to the tablet in his hand and pushed the elevator button to Maren’s floor. She left it on the bar and he knew she would freak out once she realized it was missing. He started down the hallway, and stopped walking for a second, worrying she might be asleep. He shook his head and kept moving towards her room, knowing she would rather be awoken and have the tablet safe in her possession.

 

The closer he got to her room, he noticed something was wrong. The door to her room was partially open, catching on the safety latch. He instinctively became worried. 

“Maren,” he said as he cautiously opened the door a little wider and peeked in. His heart was in his stomach with what he might find, but then he heard sniffling and gasping.

“Maren,” he said a little louder as he walked in and all at once he saw dozens of roses, and her rocking back and forth against the wall. Her knees were up at her chest, one shoe still on. Her white short sleeve blouse was partially see through from the sweat she worked up. A few pieces of her shoulder length auburn hair was matted against her face from her tears, makeup smudged completely out of place. His heart stopped for a second, never having seen her like this at all, the feeling of helplessness washed over him. Brian quickly glanced around the room to make sure no one else was in there, that she wasn’t attacked.

Maren still hadn’t noticed him. She was audibly gasping for air still, her eyes towards the ceiling and tears running down her face.

His firefighter instincts instantly kicked in, as he rushed to the bathroom and turned on the sink faucet. Grabbing a washcloth, he tested the water to make sure it was warm. Leaving the bathroom he went over to the mini bar and took out a bottle of water. Turning his attention to Maren, he slowly lowered down on his knees and crawled next to her with his back against the wall.

“Hey, Mar, it’s ok. You’re not alone. I’m here.” He said and carefully placed his hand over hers. She pulled her hand away quickly, even though the warmth felt comforting. She was still rocking back and forth and looking towards the sky. Her breath was evening out, and she could hear Brian’s voice. 

“It’s just a panic attack, you’re safe,” Brian whispered, opening the bottle of water and setting it in front of her. She looked over at him, tears starting to form again.

“I’m so sorry, please, please don’t tell anyone.. this doesn’t happen often, I’m so sorry please Brian..” Maren turned to him pleading. She unknowingly was working herself up again.

Brian’s brow furrowed in confusion “Mar, stop.. relax, it’s a panic attack. It’s ok. You’re human. Come on. Breath. Look for 5 things you can see. I’ll look with you.” he said, remembering some of his training from a job that seemed like a lifetime ago. She wasn’t the first person he’d ever seen get a panic attack. 

They looked around the room. Brian pointed “Ok what do we got.. ok there” he said pointing “ the TV,” prompting Mar to repeat after him. She nodded and said “TV”. 

“Good,” Brian exclaimed clapping his hands together once, excited. Maren jumped ,startled. 

“Sorry, sorry, it’s ok. You’re ok” Brian said gently, moving his arm around her. 

They went through the rest of the grounding exercise list. 5 things you can see. 4 things you can touch. 3 things you can hear. 2 of your favorite smells, and one of your favorite emotions. Still shaking slightly, Maren leaned her head down on his shoulder, because all she needed right now was someone. Even if that someone was Brian Quinn.

________________________________________

Brian looked down at his watch, about half hour passed since Maren had finally relaxed. She was currently asleep on his shoulder, both of them still on the floor where he originally found her. What a night, he thought to himself as he rubbed his face with his hand. Never in the two years that he had known her, had he ever seen her have a panic attack. Only once did he ever even see her cry.

He took a deep breath, frustration setting in as he kept replaying over in his head what had happened. So many questions he was trying to figure out the answers too, but it all kept coming back around to why? Didn't Maren WANT to get back with her ex? Why did all these flowers set her off?

Rubbing his forehead, he chugged some of the water from the bottle he grabbed for her and contemplated his next move. Slowly, he crawled out from under her resting on him, carefully laying her down on the floor. Once he stood, he bent over and picked her up, carrying her over to the bed. He removed the one heel she was still wearing and looked around the room for her suitcase. Grabbing a tshirt he found in her suitcase , he unbuttoned her damp blouse and carefully pulled down the t shirt over her head. The playboy in him begged to sneak a peak of her chest, but he quickly pulled the shirt down, annoyed at himself for even going there. Draping the covers over her, he took the washcloth he soaked earlier and carefully wiped the makeup off her face, then turned to the nightstand and set the alarm clock for 8am.   
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he was unsure of his next move. He walked around, picking up her things that were strewn about like her purse and made sure her phone was plugged in and charging.   
Should he leave her and go back to his room? He could sleep in the chair. He sighed and rubbed his temples, debating back and forth when his eyes fell on the roses. Grabbing the card, he read it and became pissed. He crumbled the card, shoving it in his pocket. Walking around the room he gathered all the flowers and opened the hotel room door and left them on the floor. Phoning down to the front desk he asked that someone come remove them. 

Once back inside, he made the decision to sleep in her room that night. At least this way he could talk to her about what’s going on in the morning. He removed his shoes and grabbed the extra pillow and blanket from the closet.   
Once settled in the chair he looked over at her and questioned quietly, “What’s going on with you Maren Mulligan?”


	6. My Hands Are Shaking From Holding Back From You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co Written with Hopedanglesonastring

Maren opened her eyes, the sunshine coming through the window was stinging them. Her chest still felt a little tight and her head was aching. She knew this feeling all too well, the after effects of panic attacks. 

Glancing over across the room there was Brian asleep in a hotel chair. It was all starting to come back to her, he was there with her last night. She didn't know why but for some reason he showed up and sat with her through the whole thing. Her embarrassment only got worse when she realized her shirt was different, did he really change her clothes?   
Last she saw of him he was talking to those two girls at the bar, how did he end up in her room last night? For a split second she considered waking him and telling him to climb in the bed, he definitely didn't look comfortable at all. 

Her mind then drifted to Jason, the flowers, and most importantly, his note. He missed her? He was sorry? This is all she had wanted to hear from him so why was she not happy? Why did it cause a panic attack? She always thought if something like this had happened, she would be running to the phone to accept his apologize and move on to the life they were always supposed to have together. 

As she sat in bed going through all these thoughts, she heard Brian begin to stir. She quickly pulled her covers way up, stupid considering the man changed her shirt last night, but she felt very exposed at the moment. After all he had witnessed her at her weakness moment. 

"Hi" She said softly when she noticed his eyes were opened. 

"Good morning." He greeted stretching his arms way above his head and cracking his neck a few times. "These things are definitely not for sleeping in." He laughed trying to make light of the situation. 

"Brian as much as I appreciate it, you didn't have to stay." She said feeling awkward even making eye contact with the man.

"It was no problem. You seemed pretty upset, I didn't feel right leaving you." He explained. 

"Did you Umm...undress me?" She asked timidly. 

"The shirt you were wearing was pretty damp. I didn't look...I swear." He smiled. 

"Well thank you again." She said now looking down at the comforter. "Guess you wanna know what that was all about." 

"I mean I kinda pieced it together when I saw the flowers and card." He responded.

It then suddenly dawned on Maren that the flowers were missing. She looked around the room frantically. 

"I had them thrown out." He said as he saw her eyes searching the room. 

"You what?!" She exclaimed. 

Brian stared at her in disbelief, "They clearly triggered some sort of breakdown, I thought I was doing you a favor." 

"You were nice to stay with me all night but Brian, you had no right throwing those away!" She shouted. 

"Are you for real right now?!" Brian yelled back, "You literally were having a panic attack! I did you a fucking favor Maren!" 

"That would have been for me to decide, not you!" She argued back. 

"You're gonna take him back aren't you?" Brian stated with a look of shock. 

"I don't know yet." She answered with embarrassment in her voice. 

"You are unbelievable." Brian said shaking his head, "This loser walked out on you and hurt you and the second he comes back and says jump, you do it. That is so fucking pathetic!"

Maren was enraged now and she was the type of person when backed into a corner could say some pretty nasty things. "You wanna know what's pathetic?!" She screamed. "The fact that you are in your 40s and have yet to care deeply for anyone. You will spend the rest of your life alone, jumping from one girl to the next. The truth is I feel sorry for you. If trying to see the good in people is pathetic...than fine. I guess I'm pathetic. But I would rather that over dying alone, any day." 

Brian took a step back. He didn't know whether be mad at Maren for saying these things or be mad at himself for actually believing them. He reached into his pocket feeling the crumbled up note that came with the flowers and threw it in her direction, "I refuse to have faith in people that don't deserve it.  It you wanna degrade yourself, be my guest." He said coldly then turned on his heels. 

Maren bent down to pick up the note, unwrapping it and staring at the words. Deep down she knew she shouldn't give this asshole the time of day but what if he was the love of her life?? She folded it back up and stuck it in with her luggage. For the time being a shower was the only thing on her mind.   
_______________________________  
For once Maren was the last one to board the bus. All four Jokers sat waiting for her. Joe was starting to become concerned and just as she reached for her phone to call her, she finally boarded. She looked completely not put together, very unMaren like. Everyone also noticed that her eyes were red and puffy giving them the clue that she had been crying. 

"Mar...you okay?" Murray asked immediately.

"I'm fine James." She answered quickly giving her luggage to the driver to place underneath. 

Brian had his head down reading his book refusing to look up at her. She knew she had lots of emails to look over but before doing so she made her way to Brian who was still buried in his book pages. 

"You and I don't speak for the remainder of this trip, understood?" She said sternly. 

Still not looking at her he shook his head, "Wasn't planning on it." He laughed sarcastically. 

She looked to the other three Jokers, "I'll be in the back if you need me for some reason." 

Once Maren shut the door to the back bedroom, Sal spoke up first, "What was that all about?" He asked. 

"You're just gonna take her side, so I'm not even gonna bother getting into it." Brian snapped getting up and heading into his small bunk.


	7. All of This Silence and Patience, Pining and Waiting

The last few days of the first leg of the bus tour went off without a hitch. Maren and Brian successfully avoided each other, only speaking when absolutely necessary for work related reasons. While it still made the others uncomfortable, no one pressed the issue with either of them. Joe mentioned a few times to the others that he hoped the few days off between the end of the tour and everyone having to be back in the office, gave each of them the distance they both needed.

Maren was thrilled to be back home in her New York City apartment overlooking the park, in her own bed. It was 11am on a Friday and she had just woken up. Sleeping in was a rarity on tour, after all she was working, but was one of her favorite pastimes. 

Reaching for her phone on the nightstand, she scrolled through and checked her email and text messages. Nothing was too pressing but their was a “Good Morning” text from Jason.

She felt her stomach drop a little. They texted briefly everyday since she received the flowers he sent. It was made clear that she appreciated the gesture but while she was on tour she needed to focus on that, and that they would speak when she got home. Not missing a beat and clearly aware of the tour schedule, the text was right on time and as she expected given that she was now home. She now had to face the music, but she didn’t want too. She knew she’d have to talk to him soon, or he would just continue texting. Truth was, there wasn’t a moment that went by since she got those flowers where she wasn’t mentally debating with herself on what she should do. It was complicated.

Rubbing her eyes, she rolled over in her bed and opened up a new text deciding to text Kelsey instead. “Hola,” Maren typed out and hit send. 

Kelsey Moretti was the PR director for TRU TV. They had become very close friends since Maren started working for the guys 2 years ago. Both of them work closely with each other in regards to having to maintain and coordinate the guys schedules, with Kelsey even arranging for Maren to have an office close to her at the TRU TV offices. 

“Finally! I didn’t want to text yet and risk waking you up”, Kelsey’s text chimed through. 

“I’m not sure I’m ever going to leave this bed again,” Maren responded with a smile. 

She snuggled up against the sheets and took a deep breath. Ever since going through the depression and the breakup, her home was her safe place. It brought her comfort, and a sense of calming from the outside world..

“Actually you are, because we’re meeting for drinks. I need you to tell me everything!!!” Kelsey responded, the ‘YOU ARE’ bolded and in capital letters. Maren chuckled to herself, thinking of the random texts she sent over the course of the last few days. Plenty of “I’m so confused” and “Brian’s an asshole” and “I’m going to quit” and “Of course Jason pulls this shit now that my life is back together”. Bits and pieces of of what went down while she was away, but not the complete story. Maren didn’t blame Kelsey one bit, if she had done this with her, Maren would be camping at her apartment door waiting for Kelsey to get home to hear everything.

“Nah, think I’m gonna go back to bed,” Maren joked, several smiley face emojis sent. 

Kelsey responded quickly, “Meet me in an hour at The Haven! Can’t wait to hear EVERYTHING!”

___________________________________________

The Haven was a favorite of Maren & Kelsey’s. It wasn’t that well known, far from the tourist traps of New York, but had lots of charm and a loyal following. Open mic nights, poetry slams and a laid back atmosphere plus a full bar. They visited often.

A little past an hour later, Maren walked in, casually dressed in casual lose fitting sweats a tank top, and flip flops, hair in a bun piled on her. She wore hardly any makeup, her eyes wide as she looked at all the oversized couches, and past the stage looking for Kelsey. 

Standing towards the back in the middle of several loveseats and bean bag chairs, Kelsey stood, waving her over, two drinks already in her hand. 

“I should hold this hostage until you start talking!” Kelsey joked, pushing and pulling the martini glass in front of Maren’s face and then back away again.

Maren snickered, “Alright, alright.. what do you wanna know first?!”

Kelsey looked upwards, tapping her finger against her chin, debating “JASON”, she exclaimed finally. “No, no, Brian!! He slept in your room?!?” she quickly changed her mind and blurted out.

Maren sighed, “Alright, but you gotta gimme that drink first!”

Kelsey gladly passed it over, and Maren began from the beginning. For the next two hours, the girls talked and drank and laughed. Maren felt relaxed for the first time in a few weeks.

“Ya know, I’m just going to say this, and I know, I know you don’t want to hear it,” Kelsey said diplomatically. She was about 3 drinks in, but proceeded with caution knowing how Maren always gettings annoyed when this is brought up. Kelsey continued, “But you and Brian, need to figure some shit out,” she said, not knowing how to say it any more politely.

Maren rolled her eyes and took a sip of her drink, “Brian needs to grow up. He needs to stop being such a miserable asshole all the time. I mean, who the hell is he to tell me who I should give a second chance to, or what I should do with my life!” Maren said, waving her hands around dramatically.

Kelsey set her drink down and shrugged both her arms out to her side, “Maren WHY DO YOU THINK HE IS DOING THAT?!”, she explained, literally boinking Maren on the nose.

This caused them both to laugh. Kelsey was a lot of fun. She was tall blonde and beautiful, but instead of being the stuck up snob you’d expect from someone who looked the way she did, she was the exact opposite. Warm and caring, she had no problem laughing at herself and didn’t take herself seriously. Maren loved hanging out with her, because while she certainly wasn’t tall and blonde, they were very similar and Maren felt like the girl she was two years ago before her life fell apart.

“Maren come on, he slept in your room to make sure you were ok. He himself even said you were the only female he trusted. Maybe you have him pegged all wrong,” Kelsey leaned back against the sofa, looking pleased with herself. 

Maren rolled her eyes. She had heard this all before. “ I really don’t even know why he was there, last I left him he was flirting with two women at the bar,” she said curiously, but rolling her eyes at the thought of the two girls.

Kelsey looked at her and smirked. “What?” Maren questioned, giving her a dirty look.

“Murr flirts with woman too, all the time. Why doesn’t it bother you when he does it,” she posed the question inquisitively.

Again, Maren rolled her eyes. “Oh Jesus Kelsey, I don’t have a thing for Brian. He doesn’t have a thing for me. Why can’t everyone let that go? We don’t get a long. Doesn’t mean it’s anything more than that. People don’t get along, it’s normal. Everyone who dislikes someone doesn’t mean they are secretly in love with them. Put down the Young Adult Novels for gods sake!” Maren said exasperated, raising her glass and taking a sip.

Kelsey shrugged it off, “Listen, I call it like I see it. Brian’s a good guy, and the two of you need to figure it out.” Maren rolled her eyes again and Kelsey could feel her becoming frustrated so she changed the subject. “So, Jason huh..”

Maren leaned her head back against the couch. “I mean, for 2 years Kels I hoped and prayed and wanted him back. Even after all the work I put into myself, moving out of the house we just bought... Even though I can sit here and tell you that I damn well know better than to go down that road again, a big part of me wants too.” Maren stared off in to space, scared to look into her friends face. 

Kelsey knew the entire story of Jason. Not the cliff notes version everyone else got. She knew the entire version. How they just bought a house, the engagement ring she found in the sock drawer, and ultimately how he left her for someone else. The struggle of Maren making more money than Jason and how that made him feel. How Maren continuously put him before herself, and in the process of taking care of him, she stopped taking care of herself. She stopped running marathons, and doing the things she loved. She had insecurities before, and Jason definitely had no problem pointing out her faults. Maren lost herself in the relationship, and started believing the things he said. She fell down a deep rabbit hole of insecurity and fear. She lost her sense of self, she didn’t care anymore and barely even got out of bed. Maren had come a long way in 2 years since that dark time. She was just starting to feel really good about herself and everything was falling in to place, when of course he came back.

Kelsey was silent for a few moments and looked at her friend. “Maren what you went through was hell. You should be proud of how far you’ve come. Listen to your intuition. You already know the answers.” she looked at her watch and took a sip of her drink. Maren nodded over at her and smiled.

“I have to get back to the office soon. Still working out the details of the ‘Cause for a Cure’ benefit. But first... let’s take a selfie!!” Kelsey said, holding up her cell phone. She moved across to sit next to Maren and held up her phone. They both leaned their heads in and held up their drinks and smiled. Maren didn’t even care that she had hardly any makeup. She was happy to be with her friend.

Kelsey finished her drink and stood up grabbing her purse. “Mar.. how was he at your hotel room?” she winked back at Maren.

“BYE KELSEY!” Maren exclaimed and she smacked Kelsey’s butt as she turned around and stuck her tongue out at Maren.

Maren shaked her head and drank the rest of her martini in one gulp. She was a little loopy and clearly not thinking straight when she immediately grabbed her cellphone and shot off the text.

“What were you even doing at my room that night anyway?!” Maren texted Brian. She looked at the phone for a minute. It was a legit question she convinced herself.

 

___________________________________________

Laying on his couch in Staten Island, Brian was content, petting Benjamin cat on his chest and scrolling through his Instagram when Kelsey’s photo with Maren showed up in his feed. The annoyance he had been feeling with Maren the past few days wasn’t there when he laid eyes on her in the photo, which was odd considering they last saw each other only yesterday. She looked calm and peaceful and her blue green eyes seemed to sparkle next to Kelsey. Brian’s stomach turned to knots as he thought maybe it had something to do with Jason, that maybe they had already gotten back together. Brian was about to get up from the couch and head to a bar to take his mind off everything when her text chimed in.

“What were you even doing at my room that night anyway”


	8. My Hands Are Shaking From Holding Back From All This

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co- written with hopedanglesonastring :)

"What were you even doing at my room that night anyway?"

 

Brian couldn't help but think where all this was coming from. It had been over a week since that night. Was she thinking about him? Is that what her and Kelsey had been talking about over drinks? He decided to bust her balls a little before answering her question.

 

Brian: Oh are we talking again?

 

Maren: Quit it Quinn! I wanna know why you were in my room in the first place.

 

Brian: See I would tell you but that would involve speaking about something that wasn't about work and as far as I can remember, I'm not allowed to do that anymore.

 

Maren: You are the most impossible person in the world, you do know that right?!

 

Brian: Well then my job is complete for the day ;)

 

Maren sat back in her seat at the bar and rubbed her head. How as it possible that the man wasn't even here and still gave her a headache. She looked down when her phone beeped again with another text.

 

Brian: You left your tablet at the hotel bar that night dopey, I was returning it to you before you had an aneurism.

 

And there was that weird feeling again, in the pit of her stomach. Why was she somewhat hoping for a different answer from him? What other reason would he have had showing up to her room late at night? "Can I grab one more?" she asked pointing her martini glass to the bartender.

 

____________________________________________________________________________________

 

"How do I look?" Maren said popping her head into Kelsey's office not noticing she was on the phone. "Oops, sorry." she mouthed. Kelsey smiled and held up her finger signaling for Maren to give her one minute.

 

When she placed the phone down she looked up and whistled at her friend. "Damn girl, you looking hot!"

 

"You think?!" Maren asked spinning around once more. She was in a tight black lacy cocktail dress with sexy spiked stilettoes. Her usually pulled back hair was down in loose curls accented with a crystal barrette that pulled a few strands from her face.

 

"I forgot you had legs like that!" Kelsey laughed, "And where are we off to?"

 

"If I tell you, you have to promise not to kill me." She answered.

 

"Jason?" Kelsey whined, "Mar!"

 

She had been sitting on this decision for a week and finally after a lot of thought she agreed to meet him for dinner. "I just wanna hear him out. Maybe he's changed, who knows."

 

Kelsey rolled her eyes, "I'll believe that when I see it."

 

"Please support me on this." Maren argued, "You're my best friend."

 

"Really, you're playing the best friend card?" Kelsey said with a small smile, "That's low." she added getting up from her desk to give Maren a hug. "Where's he taking you?"

 

"That steakhouse on the east side, Sparks." She answered. "Brunch tomorrow?" Maren asked before slipping out.

 

"Absolutely." Kelsey answered.

 

Maren headed for the elevators. It was Friday night, the office was starting to empty. Many offices and cubicles had already become vacant for the weekend. As she rode the elevator down to the ground floor along, she took repeated deep breaths. After two years, she was finally going to see Jason. The man she was supposed to be with. The man she hoped had changed and wanted her the way she was.

 

____________________________________________________________________________________

 

"Where's Mar at?" Sal asked, him and Q poking their heads into Kelsey's office. He had a quick question for her and thought he would just ask her in person instead of bothering her over the weekend.

 

She rolled her eyes at the question, "Ugh, don't get me started." She said.

 

"Why where'd she go?" Brian asked with a sense of alarm in his voice.

 

"She decided to meet up with that snake, Jason. She's gonna give him another chance, I just know it." Kelsey said completely exhausted at the thought. "She's just so much better than that and seems to hold this guy up on some sort of pedestal."

 

"Where's she meeting him?" Brian interrupted surprising both Sal and Kelsey.

 

"Umm... I think she said that steakhouse by the park...Sparks I think it's called?" Kelsey answered but also exchanging looks with Sal wondering why Brian seemed to have any interested in this topic. Kelsey's office phone than rang causing the conversation to stop.

 

Once Sal and Q exited the office, Q turned to Sal, "Let's head down there."

 

"Head where?" Sal asked.

 

"That place Mar's meeting that asshole." Brian answered without giving it another thought.

 

"Oh I don't think that's a good idea man. We can't start butting into her personal life like that." Sal said. "She needs to do what she wants to do."

 

"You wanna see her heartbroken all over again over this guy?!" Brian snapped. Sal followed him onto the elevator and looked at him questionable.

 

"Why are you so concerned about this?" He questioned.

 

"Because even though everyone wants to say I'm an ass to her, I do care for her feelings. And if she's not gonna see it herself, someone needs to make her." Brian answered.

 

"Q, she's probably gonna be really mad if we just show up and ruin her date."Sal insisted.

 

"Since when do I care about pissing Maren off." Q joked.

 

"You might not care but I do." Sal said.

 

"You know you're not gonna have me go alone, so why do you insist on arguing with me." Q smiled. "Come on, my jeep's across the street."

 

_________________________________________________________________________

 

Maren ducked into the bathroom before asking the hostess if she had a table yet. She looked into the mirror and touched up her red lipstick, Jason always loved her in red lipstick and would comment when she wore anything else. She was pleased with the way her curls came out and hoped Jason would be too,  Jason loved curls.

 

As she looked over her appearance one last time, she couldn't ignore the knots she had in her stomach. She still couldn't shake the feelings that this was all wrong.

 

________________________________________________________________________

 

"So I still don't understand your plan." Sal argued trailing behind Q trying to keep up with his fast pace.

 

"Whatta mean?" Q asked stopping right in front of the door to Sparks.

 

"You just gonna go interrupt their dinner and say what....hi you shouldn't give this asshole the time of day?" Sal asked. "This is her business Q and as much as I love Maren, she is an adult who is free to have dinner with whoever she wants to."

 

What Q hadn't told Sal was that this asshole caused her to have a panic attack last week. He kept his promise by not telling anyone but if flowers and a card set her off, Q didn't wanna know what could happen when she was standing right in front of the man. "We can at least try and if she tells us to fuck off, fine." Q shrugged reaching for the door handle.

 

Like any New York restaurant on a Friday night, it was packed. "Alright Einstein, care to tell me how we begin to find her?" Sal said. Q himself wasn't sure but they had come this far so he made his way towards the host desk ignoring his groaning best friend behind him. 

 

Coming out of the hallway, Maren was so fidgety that she wasn't watching where she was going and walked right into two men. When she looked up to apologize she realized that she knew these two men. "Sal? Q?" she exclaimed. "What...what are you guys doing here?"

 

"Came to talk to you actually." Q responded pulling her back inside the less crowded hallway.

 

"Is something wrong?" She asked concerned.

 

Q looked to Sal who in turned shook his head, "Oh no, this was your bright idea." Sal said crossing his arms.

 

"Guys look I'm supposed to be meeting someone right now, can this wait?" Maren asked. Jason hated people being late.

 

"That's exactly why we're here." Brian jumped in. "Mar, what the hell are you doing? Come on you can't take this guy back."

 

"How did you...?" She started to say.

 

"Went by your office and Kelsey filled us in. She thinks its a bad idea and so do we." Brian interrupted. "This guy put you through hell, in more ways than one." As Brian continued to lecture Maren on all the reasons why this was a bad idea, Sal remained silent just looking on. At first he was confused as to why this was so important to Q but now he was more sure than ever, he had a thing for their tour manager.

 

"Listen as sweet as I think it is, you both checking on me, I'm fine. I'm a big girl. Now please, I'm already late. Please go." Maren begged. Another thing Jason hated, her talking to other men. If he happened to see her in a hallway with two other guys, any chances of a reconciliation would likely be out the window. She quickly brushed past them and walked further into the restaurant.

 

"Let's head out." Sal said watching her leave.

 

"I'm not going anywhere." Q said. He watched as the hostess guided Maren to a table a short distance from the bar.

 

"Q man, come on. We can't stalk her date. This is getting a little crazy." Sal tried convincing his friend.

 

"I have a bad feeling about this guy, I wanna stick around and make sure she's okay." He responded. Maren's panic attack was still flashing through his mind. If something happened and she had another one in the middle of a restaurant not only would she be humiliated but he would never forgive himself.

 

"Then you'll be doing it alone. I'm not pissing her off anymore than she probably already is at us." Sal said putting his foot down. "Just promise me , you won't do anything stupid."

 

Once Sal had left, Q snuck over to the bar. He was a safe distance away where she wouldn't notice him blended in with the crowd but still was close enough to see. Ordering a drink, he sipped on his beer and hoped he wouldn't have to do something stupid.

 

Across the way, Maren had settled into her seat. Jason had hugged her tightly and pulled out her chair as he commented on how gorgeous she looked. He immediately grabbed her hand and squeezed tightly. "I just missed you so much." He said smiling.

 

"Took you two years to realize you missed me?" She said saying the first thing on her mind.

 

Jason gave her a questioning look, in the past she would have never spoken to him like that. "I've grown a lot and you know its hard for me to say but I'm sorry Bunny."

 

Maren crinkled her nose at the old nickname he used to call her. It was beyond her at the moment but she couldn't believe she used to actually liked when he called her by it. "I've grown too. My career has skyrocketed and I do a lot of traveling."

 

"That's great Bunny. So during this traveling, do you think about me?" Jason asked.

 

"I mean yeah, I miss our life together but Jason, you hurt me." Maren admitted. "You hurt me worse than I have ever been hurt before."

 

"I know Bunny and like I said, I am owning up to those mistakes." Jason argued. "Let's start off fresh." He smiled putting his hand over hers again.

 

For a moment she soften to his touch. He was still as handsome as ever and she knew they had always had this chemistry. Jason took her smile as a good sign. "Excellent!" he exclaimed. "Well since you were a little late, I took the liberty of ordering for you. Still like duck right?" He asked.

 

"Actually this pork chop sounds really good." She interrupted looking at the menu.

 

"Oh well, I already ordered." Jason said a bit concerned.

 

"Duck is fine." she said with a forced smile. She didn't wanna inconvenience the waitress because he was impatient and ordered for her.   

"Something to drink Miss?" The waitress asked coming to the table.

 

"I'll have a glass of Cabernet please." Maren smiled. "House is fine."

 

"Woah woah, I've tried the house, its pitiful. She'll take a glass of the Don Melchor." Jason said stopping the poor waitress in her tracks.

 

"Seriously, the house is fine." Maren smiled at the poor girl getting frustrated with Jason. Some things never change, always thinking because he orders the most expensive thing on the menu people needed to kiss his ass.

 

As the waitress left them alone, Jason looked upset. "I just want you to have the very best Bunny."

 

"I can order my own drink and food Jason." She snapped.

 

"OK ok." he held his hands up in defense.

 

When dinner arrived, Maren felt more on edge than ever. She could have sworn she had stepped into a time machine and taken it back to two years ago. As she sat quietly eating the ridiculously greasy overpriced duck, Jason went on and on about himself. He had finally gotten a promotion and now thought his shit really didn't stink. Not once had he asked her about herself or anything about what she had been up to recently.

 

"Spray tan huh?" Jason asked pulling her from her thoughts.

 

"Excuse me?" she asked.

 

"You got a spray tan? You know I find those so trashy." Jason commented rolling his eyes.

 

"I was in Miami last month, thought I would try something different." Maren argued.

 

"Makes you look cheap." he muttered then took another bite from his plate.

 

"You know what?!" She shouted causing a lot of people to stare. "I don't give a damn what you think Jason!" Then picking up her wine glass she tossed the red contents in his face.

 

"Bunny, you're making a scene." Jason whispered wiping his face off with his napkin.

 

"Good!" She yelled back. "Now everyone will know what a possessive, controlling asshole you are! And my name is Maren, not Bunny!"

 

Maren's commotion was drawing attention from the bar as well. Once Q heard Maren's voice shouting he shot up and made it straight for her direction.

 

"This was obviously a mistake. You haven't changed and never will. My life is better without you. Have a good life Jason." She finished turning on her heels surprised when she saw Q standing behind her.  They locked eyes and surprisingly  she wasn't embarrassed to see him, she was proud that he was seeing her stand up for herself.

 

"Leaving you was the best thing I ever did, you are such a dumb bitch!" Jason yelled now completely embarrassed that the whole place was looking at him.

 

"And you're a douchebag! Goodbye Jason." Maren said excited to finally close this chapter in her life. Brian followed her as she walked away but not without shooting this scumbag a dirty look first.

 

When they finally made it a safe distance away from him, Maren turned around to face Q. "Can you please not say, I told you so?"

 

"Are you kidding me?!" Q exclaimed, "That was awesome!"

 

"It felt so good too!" She smiled, "Wait a minute, what are you still doing here?" She asked.

 

"Wanted to make sure you were gonna be okay. I saw how worked up you got with the flowers, didn't know how you would handle seeing him in person." He answered.

 

She was stunned. This was such a sweet gesture and she couldn't believe it came from Q. "Brian, I don't know what to say. Thank you." Without thinking she grabbed him giving him a huge hug. Brian brought his arms around her body squeezing her tight. The smell of her hair was intoxicating to him and the feeling of her soft skin against him was making him feel very funny.

 

"Did you eat?" she asked as she let go. When he shook his head, "Me neither, that duck was awful. Wanna grab a spot at the bar and eat?"

 

"Sure thing but on one condition." he said. "You gotta take that lipstick off, its terrible." he laughed.

 

Maren touched her lips then burst out laughing at the bright red color, "With pleasure!" she responded. She then thought quickly and after looking around at the high end atmosphere, all Maren wanted was a beer and cheap bar food. "Would you mind if we went somewhere else, not really feeling this place anymore."

 

"It's like you read my mind, there's a great burger joint couple streets over." Q suggested.

 

"Perfect!" She smiled, "Let me just wipe this shit off and I'll be right back."

 

"Hey Mar!" he yelled after her. Once she turned back to look at him he smiled, "I'm really proud of you."  

 

She blushed in response, "Thanks Quinn." Then took off towards the ladies room.


	9. Say My Name and Everything Just Stops

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit to a Hopedanglesonastring 
> 
> Also Merry Christmas all. Thank you for making this year so fun!!

Maren and Brian walked a few blocks in silence, the only sound was her stilettos on the pavement. Every few steps Brian would look over at her, and would smirk. Finally she broke the silence grinning, "Whaattt?! Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

 

Brian smiled and let out a little laugh. There were a million thoughts going through his head. "I'm just thankful you never threw a glass of wine in MY face" he said shrugging.

 

"Well you are my boss,but don't think I haven't wanted too," she shoved him playfully as they walked side by side.The stilettos were killing her feet, but she didn't care.She was currently on top of the world. The knots in her stomach disappeared, she felt at peace and honestly pretty damn proud of herself.The girl she lost was starting to come back, and Maren welcomed her with open arms.

 

As if reading her mind, Brian looked down at her feet. "Those are some shoes.... I'm sure your feet are killing you. We're almost there," he said as he rested a hand on her lower back, guiding her through the busy streets. Maren got goosebumps at his touch. She blushed shaking her head, thinking about the look on Kelsey's face when she'd hear about tonight.

 

"Ohmigosh yes, I'm so not a shoe girl, I'd kill for my converse right now," she replied as they turned the corner into a dimly lit street lined with trees. Brian smiled to himself. He had noticed that about her. While she was always completely professional, the few times Maren did partake in wrap parties and fun parties with the TruTv fam, she was very much a jeans and T-shirt gal, and secretly he loved it.

 

Brian was lost in his thoughts and didn't even realize Maren stopped walking. He turned around and saw her staring at a dress in the window of a small boutique they had passed.

 

"Wow.. This dress is amazing," she said quietly. Brian noticed her face light up and his stomach did it's millionth somersault of the night. How did he never notice how beautiful she was?

 

"It would look great on you. Perfect for the Cause for a Cure Benefit next month," he mentioned, glancing up to the name of the boutique, Dawson Designs.

 

Maren turned and looked at him. "It would be perfect actually," she grinned turning her attention back to the window. The dress was the prettiest shade of navy blue, a classy halter style gown, with long slits up each side, cut very low in the front to show cleavage. It was one of those dresses you didn't even want to try on, because you know it was extremely out of your price range. The fabric ridiculously extravagantand expensive.She imagined how she would look in it and if she would do it justice, and then realized she was daydreaming and pulled herself out of it. She turned to Brian and began to walk again

 

"How much further Quinn.. its time for a drink!"

 

________________________________________

 

Maren could feel the heads turn in her direction when they walked in. It didn't look like they were used to getting many lacy wrap dresses and stiletto heels walking through the door.

 

"Grab a seat, I'll grab our drinks," Brian gestured toward some empty booths in the back.

 

Maren had settled in and took off one of her stilettos rubbing her foot when Brian appeared with two shot glasses in hand. Maren threw her head back and laughed.

 

"If there's one thing I do know about you Maren, is how much you love your tequila," Brian laughed as he set the shot glass rimmed with a lime down in front of her. Maren could drink any guy under the table, something Brian had witnessed many times first hand.

 

She rolled her eyes and blushed. "Guilty as charged" she said pounding the drink back. The cool smooth liquid floated down her throat as a smile spread across her lips. Maren's hand went up in the air, signaling for the waiter to bring another round.

 

"You didn't even wait for me!" Brian laughed and downed his shot, which appeared to be Jameson.

 

When the waitress appeared with another round, Maren saw the girl appear nervous and giggle. "Are you Q from Impractical Jokers?!" She asked setting the drinks down.

Maren rolled her eyes and slammed back her second drink as Brian turned on the charm.

 

"Yes, I'm Brian," he reached out her hand to shake it.

"And I'm starrrving" Maren said causing the waitress to snap out of her dreamy gaze at Brian. "I'll have a cheeseburger. Medium. Quinn?"

 

"Same," Brian said handing the menus back to the waitress. She collected them and hurried away, smiling sheepishly at Brian.

 

Maren snickered and rolled her eyes at him.

"Oh stop, it's not like every guy in here isn't looking at you", he said looking around the room.

 

"Oh please!! Is this why you come here?! Cause the waitresses have crushes on you?!?" Maren burst into a fit of giggles and she knew the shots were going to her head. Brian leaned back in the booth and just looked at her laughing.

 

"No! They have good burgers, I told you that!" He said flipping a napkin at her.

 

"Rigghtt," Maren said with a thumbs up. They both laughed a little until it got uncomfortably quiet again.

 

The silence was interrupted by the waitress bringing them another round of shots and their burgers. Maren was starving and couldn't wait to dive into her burger. Brian was right, they had the best burgers. It was one of those burgers you needed both hands to eat. She went through a million napkins as the grease from the burger rolled down her chin with every bite. She laughed each time she has to wipe it away, and Brian wasn't sure what was happening, but he couldn't get enough of this girl, a girl that has pretty much pissed him off every day for the last 2 years.

 

Once they finished their burgers, the waitress cleared their table and brought them another round of shots and the check. Brian grabbed for the check but Maren beat him to it. "No gimme" Brian said with his hand out.

Maren slapped him five. "Nope, this is on me. As a thank you. I don't think I ever properly thanked you for the night in the hotel either" Maren said as she took her credit card from her clutch.

"Maren you'd have done the same for any of us, it was not a big deal. Please, I insist, I will pay." He said handing her her credit card back.

 

"Nope. My treat. Oh and don't look now but, looks like your fan club is on its way over" Maren said smiling and nodding in their direction. Brian looked up and noticed the waitress on her way over with another waitress.

 

"Excuse me Mr Quinn, would it be possible if we could both get selfies", their waitress asked. Maren turned her head and snickered again. "Mr. Quinn, please take the selfies, I'll just be in the bathroom" Maren chuckledand excused herself.

Standing up she felt the gravity of the evenings shots hit her and she grabbed on to the side of the table to steady herself. The two waitresses had both their phones out and Brian was happily snapping pictures.

 

Once Maren got to the bathroom she fished her cell phone out of her clutch. There were a few texts from Kelsey.

 

Maren opened up one and replied. "You'll be happy to know that I told Jason to Fuck Off!!" she typed and hit send.

 

Kelsey responded almost immediately, "That's my girl!! What are you doing now?"

 

"Already home and in bed" Maren typed back.

 

"Liar" said Kelsey's text. Maren chuckled. She didn't know how to respond. Does she tell Kelsey now or wait until Brunch?

 

"Are you with Brian?!" Kelsey texted again.

 

"Gotta go Kels, see you tomorrow," Maren texted back and put away her phone. She took a deep breath and smiled to herself.

 

Just then, the waitress who came over with their serverto get selfies with Brian came into the bathroom and looked her up and down. Normally this would have pissed Maren off, but she didn't have a care in the world tonight. "Are you his girlfriend?" She asked rather snotty. Maren decided to have some fun with this and shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not." She said as she walked out of the bathroom. Nothing was gonna tear her down tonight.

 

Brian was waiting at the front of the restaurant, hat pulled down low. Maren could tell he was over the excitement of being "Q" from Impractical Jokers tonight.

 

"So, I have an idea" Maren said when she reached him. "You down?"

 

"Lead the way" Brian said opening the door.

 

 

____________________________________________

 

 

After a brief stop at drugstore Duane Reade to buy a pair of flip flops, Maren held the door open for Brian to "The Haven".

 

"No one will recognize you in this place" Maren said as she lead the way towards the back, waving to the bartender as they passed the bar. It was open mic night, and the place was a little over half full. She stopped in front of a huge lovesac sofa and looked atBrian. He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh just sit," she said pulling his elbow downward and she flipped on the oversized bean bag chair.

 

"What is this place?" He asked looking around. There was a guy on the stage reciting poetry and a guy just off stage with a guitar ready to go on next.

 

Maren had a twinkle in her eye Brian hadn'tseen before. "I love this place. It's a great little hangout most people don't know about. They do all sorts of things... poetry slams, open mic nights, arts and crafts on the weekends. It's a lot of fun."

 

Brian raised an eyebrow.. "Soo... " he said to Maren who wasn'tfollowong where he was headed..

 

"Whaat?' Maren asked confused.

 

Brian shook his head a little "So have you ever done anything on stage?!"he asked getting straight to the point.

 

Maren looked to the ceiling with a smirk and shrugged. "'Maybe"

 

"Wow Maren Mulligan .. what other secrets do you have up your sleeve?!" Brian asked as the waiter came by to take their orders.

 

"Guess you'll just have to see," Maren said, as she hid her shaking hand behind her head. She was thankful the bartender returned very quickly with her martini. After taking a big sip, she sprung to her feet and headed towards the stage. She looked back at Brian who was staring at her intently and she flashed him two thumbs up and made a silly face at him.

 

She walked over to the guy off stage with the guitar and Brian saw her talking back and forth with him. He took out his cellphone and noticed a text from Sal.

 

"Everything good Bud? Haven't heard from you" Sals message said.

 

Brian didn't respond and put down his phone, just as he heard Maren's voice come on the microphone.

 

"Hi, my name is Maren and I'm gonna sing a song you'll probably recognize, but in a stripped down version. I hope you like it".

 

Brian's eyebrows shot up. "Sing?" he muttered under his breathe.

 

On stage, Maren's stomach was uneasy.. would Brian totally laugh at me?! Why am I even up here?! No, no You can do this.. she lectured herself as the guitarist started to play.

 

She looked out amongst the crowd and over to Brian, grabbed the microphone and began to sing..

 

"Where have all the good men gone, and where are all the gods?

Where's the street-wise Hercules

To fight the rising odds?

Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?

Late at night I toss and turn and dream of what I need

I need a hero

I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night

He's gotta be strong, he's gotta be fast

And he's gotta be larger than life, larger than life..

 

Brian recognized the 80s Bonnie Tyler song almost immediately, but he never heard it so stripped down and beautiful, and he certainly never knew Maren Mulligan had a voice like this.He sat, mesmerized by what he was witnessing.

 

Somewhere after midnight in my wildest fantasies

Somewhere just beyond my reach

There's someone reaching back for me

Racing on the thunder end rising with the heat

Isn't there a superman to sweep me off my feet..

 

He looked down at the Superman shirt he was wearing and smiled sheepishly. He locked eyes on stage with her again and didn't even want to tear them away when he took a sip of his beer. He opened his phone and without looking, shot off a text to Sal.

 

"I think I'm in love with Maren"

 

 

A/N: The song Maren sings is "Holding Out for a Hero" by Ella Mae Bowen.


	10. I Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As Always conwritten with Hopedanglesonastring:)

Brian was so captivated by what was happening on the small stage in front of him, he didn't even bother to read the response that came over his screen. 

Sal: Umm...excuse me? 

Watching Maren up there was as natural as watching a fish swim in a pond. A usually shy and timid woman was standing up there; her voice demanding people's attention. Her little body released this power that was almost overwhelming to him. If her voice didn't shock him, her eye contact certainly did. As she continued to sing, she kept looking at him with this sexiness that was both beautiful but also a turn on. He had been feeling things these past couple weeks that he had never felt for her, or any woman, before but tonight the feelings were only growing. 

Once she finished the song, everyone including himself, stood and clapped for her performance. It was then that he saw the Maren he was familiar with. The shy woman that blushed when the wind blew too strongly. She quickly scurried back to where he was and sat down, her cheeks rosy with excitement. 

"Wow, that was just...wow." Brian said shaking his head in amazement. "I had absolutely no idea." 

"No one does. It's my little secret. I usually only do it if no one I know is here." She admitted. Even though her and Kelsey had been here so many times, she never once got up there with her here. It surprised her she actually had the guts to do it with Brian here watching. 

"All the connections you have after working with us all this time and you've never tried to send something out there?" He asked. 

"Are you kidding?" She laughed, "I would never!" 

The cocktail waitress was making her rounds and stopped in front of them. "We doing another round?" Maren asked. 

"I'm game." He answered sitting back more into the sofa getting ready to listen to the next act.

They both turned their attention to the short red head who had taken Maren's vacant spot on stage. "This poem is titled 'A Silent Love'." She spoke into the mic. 

"How can you deny me?   
Something that is so true.   
Our friendship is worth the world to me.  
But my dream is to be close to you." 

 

As the poem was read, Brian reached his arm back resting it on the cushion behind Maren. Both their hearts where beating faster with each passing word of the poem. 

We support each other endlessly,   
Given hope through thick and thin.   
But my heart bleeds constantly to be near you.  
Whispering the word, when?

Brian glanced down as discreetly as possible to the woman who was sitting to his left. Her eyes were glued to the stage as she listened to the poem and as hard as Brian was trying to be polite to the poet up there, all he could focus on was Maren. 

I gave you a path to my heart,  
And on it you certainly found your way.  
No lying in my spirit  
I dream of us everyday. 

Maren listened to each word, hanging onto every verse. After a night that typically would have left her a crumbled mess, she found herself never more at peace. Taking a deep relaxing breath in, she scooted a little closer to the man sitting next to her and very softly laid her head against his shoulder. At first she thought she made the wrong move when she felt him stiffen but was relieved when he quickly relaxed and placed a hand on her leg giving it a small squeeze. 

And now it's the mystery that lies within you  
Your soul I wish to be near.  
But as for now, I will continue loving you, quietly remaining here. 

It pained him to do it but once the poem was finished, Brian removed his hand to begin clapping. Maren lifted her head and clapped along with everyone else but kept her body pressed to Brian's. Even with the drinks in her system her brain was working in overdrive and she was trying to figure out what was happening. 

After one more drink each, Brian leaned in close bring his mouth to her ear, "Wanna go to one more place before calling it a night?" He whispered sending what could only be described as chills up her spine. 

She smiled and nodded confirming that she was on board with whatever he had up his sleeve. 

"Cool, let's go outside and get a cab." He said throwing money on the table to cover the bill plus a generous tip to the girl that kept their drinks full. 

Brian took Maren by the hand as he navigated through the crowd towards the exit. In typical New York ease, he hailed a cab quickly opening the door so Maren could slide in first. He gave a random address to the driver that she didn't recognize. 

The drinks were slowly creeping up on her so she laid her head back against the leather seat taking a couple breaths. "You still with me over there?" Brian chuckled against her ear. 

"Just been a crazy night." She smiled. "I'm good." She assured him.

He wanted to pull her in closer to his body but something was stopping him this time. Women were definitely not something that usually made Brian Quinn nervous; so why was he on edge right now? He quickly wiped the sweat from his hands against his jeans. 'Get it together Quinn.' He yelled silently to himself. 

Maren was a little confused when they traveled to the furthest end of Manhattan. They had passed all the bars and restaurants at this point. The only things around were offices and a couple smaller apartment buildings. "Where are we?" She asked looking around as Brian quickly handed the driver money. 

"You'll see." He responded taking her hand one more time and walking towards a brick building. She realized it was an apartment building by the line of mailboxes in the lobby. "This way." He said leading them towards the elevators.

Maren was incredibly confused, she knew Brian lived on Staten Island so this couldn't be his apartment, so who the hell lived here? Brian hit the top floor button and she leaned against the wall as they traveled upward. "Where are we going?" She asked scrunching her forehead. 

Brian's only response was a small smirk and a wink that made Maren's body immediately run hot. Few moments later, the elevator dinged signaling that they had reached the top. There were no apartments on this floor, just an empty hallway that eventually turned to an old iron staircase. "Thank god I changed my shoes." She commented as she followed Brian upward. 

Once they got to the top of the stairs, Maren noticed the sign on the door that read, ROOF. She was so confused on what was happening. Brian pushed the metal door open, using a wooden block to keep the door propped open, and took Maren's hand again. 

"Is this where you finally kill me?" She asked wondering what on earth they were doing on a roof. 

"No, I would have just done that by the river and saved the cab fare." He smiled. 

"Ha Ha, very funny Quinn." She said sarcastically. However once she stepped outside and took a second to look around she was astonished by the view. They were high above many of the neighboring buildings but the taller skyscrapers in the city twinkled like diamonds in the distance. The moon gave perfect lighting to see the park and it's gorgeous trees and bounced against the water nearby. Being on the outskirts of the city made it possible to see the stars, a rarity in New York City. 

"Years ago when I was a fireman, this was one of my first calls. It was a huge 3 alarm fire that Staten Island ended up getting called in for to help with." Brian began explaining. "Being the low man on the totem pole, I had to make sure the building was secure after we put out the flames. And one of the ways you do that is by coming up to the roof. Once I got up here I was blown away by the view and sat up here for awhile." 

"It really is beautiful. I've never seen a view like this in the city." She replied looking around and taking in the sights. As she spoke she took a couple more steps to the wall holding onto the brick.

"I always said that I would take someone special up here with me one day." He added as he came up from behind her. 

"Is that right?" She asked smiling as she felt Brian place his hands on her hips. 

"Mar, I know I drive you crazy and we bump heads a lot but you are truly an amazing woman." He said speaking softly leaning down speaking against her hair. Maren couldn't remember the last time her heart ever beat so fast. "I know you stepped out of your comfort zone today sticking up for yourself like you did but I see this new fire in you and I just want to tell you how proud I am of you." He then paused trying to decide if he should say what was on his mind, and after deciding that he had already gone this far he spoke again, "I'm sure it doesn't seem like it all the time, but Maren you are a very special person to me." 

Maren went to open her mouth to say something but he cut her off, "Let me try something." He said. 

"Try what?" She asked leaning against the brick ledge for support.

Brian gave a small smile as he leaned closer into her, "This." He whispered then lightly pressed his lips to hers. Relief washed over him when she didn't pull away. A part of him was nervous he misread her signals to him but as he felt her lean into him he knew he made the right choice by bringing her up here tonight.

The kiss was small and once it ended they pulled away looking at one another. Maren took a second to process what just happened, she wasn't sure what any of this meant but all she cared about for the time being was doing it again. It was her turn to move her lips to his and she did so by wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him gently down. 

Brian brought his arms around her back pulling her into his chest. Their kiss had now deepened and he slipped his tongue into her mouth. He smiled when he heard a soft moan from her. Maren's hand was rubbing the side of his beard as she continued kissing him. The only thought going through her mind was what an amazing kisser he was. She had always figured he was but now experiencing it for herself, she could stay up here all night and make out with him. 

"Mmm..Maren." He whispered coming up for air for a moment as he swept a hand through her soft hair. 

"You're a really good kisser." She smiled with a giggle. 

"Right back at ya." He responded pulling her back to his lips. His instincts kicked in and he slid his hands down to cup her ass but stopped himself. This was Maren, not a random chick. 

She felt the hesitation and pulled away from his kisses, "Q, you can grab my ass." She laughed. 

"Can't lie and say I haven't thought about your ass from time to time." He smiled as he brought his hands back down squeeze it, loving the feeling of how hot she was pressed up against him. 

"Shut up and kiss me more." She commanded pulling his neck down so she could attack his lips again. Not in the mood to argue for once with this woman, Brian followed orders and kissed her as passionately as he could. Her hands gripped at his arms, he was turning her on; he could tell. 

After spending some time up there, kissing and taking breaks in between to look up at the stars, a chill eventually ran through Maren's body and Brian noticed when he felt her shiver against him. "Cold?" He whispered. 

"Little bit." She answered leaning into his touch. 

"Come on..." He said turning on his heels, "Don't need you getting sick and calling outta work." He winked. She followed close behind as they made their way back down the staircase, down the elevator, and out the door again. 

Due to the sleepiness of the neighborhood they were in, it took a little longer to find a cab but eventually Brian was able to spot one. Maren's eyes were growing heavy in the back seat and when Brian pulled her down against him, she immediately relaxed and started drifting off. The feel of his strong body against her was nice. It was funny because even though she had known this man for over two years and traveled the world with him, she had no idea the gentle strength he possessed. She knew he was watching what he was eating lately and losing weight but she had no idea the muscles that were underneath his t-shirts. It felt nice, it felt comforting, it felt sexy. 

His scent was also something she never took the time to notice. It wasn't cologne and his facial hair gave the clue that it wasn't aftershave she was smelling. It was just Brian and Maren knew it was to be her new favorite smell. He had his arm firmly around her and in her half asleep state, she snuggled into his side. "Thank you for a nice night." She mumbled sleepily.

"You're welcome." He said in a hush kissing the top of her hair.

When they reached her apartment, Brian leaned up towards the cab driver, handing him a $20 and telling him if he waited down here for him there would be more to that tip. He then turned to the sleepy woman beside him and nudged her gently. "Come on sleepyhead. Let's get you upstairs." 

Maren dragged herself out of the cab and smiled when Brian grabbed hold of her hand. He had never been to her apartment and she quietly wondered how he knew her address. It was late and her building lobby was empty as was the elevator. As they traveled up to her apartment, Brian gently pushed her against the wall showering her neck with kisses. 

"Oh Jesus." She moaned as he nipped at her neck. His little bites and licks were driving her crazy. He used his leg to separate hers and very slowly bent his knee so he could rub her center. Maren had no idea a knee could make her feel so good but between making out with this man for over an hour and being touched in ways she hadn't in a very long time, Maren was insanely turned on. 

She let out a frustrated groan when the elevator doors opened causing Brian to laugh. He was effective her body, he knew that for a fact. When they reached her apartment door, she leaned against it. Internally she was having a battle, should she actually be one of those girls and invite Q from Impractical Jokers in for the night? 

Just when she was about to say screw it and give into one night of feeling amazing without a care in the world he spoke. "I got the cab waiting down there for me." He then leaned down for one final soft kiss. "Goodnight Mar." 

As she watched him walk away she called out, "Hey Quinn!" 

"Sup?" He turned around with a smile. 

"Thanks for making such a shitty night so much better." She said biting her lower lip as she leaned against the door frame. 

"Anytime babe." He responded with a wink before disappearing around the corner. 

As Maren undressed and got ready for bed and Brian sat in the back of the cab on his way to his car both were thinking the exact same things. 'Did that really just happen? But more importantly, 'Were they going to get to do it again?' 

 

A/N: The poem in this chapter is one I heard a very long time ago by an anonymous author. It always stuck with me and I find it written so beautifully and felt it fit perfect for this story!


	11. Only Bought This Dress so You Could Take it Off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Conwritten with Hopedanglesonastring

"Hello?" Maren's raspy voice said quickly into her cell phone. It had been ringing off and on for the last 30 minutes, but she hadn't realized.

"Well good morning to you too sunshine," came Kelsey's normally perky voice. 

"Shit am I late??" Maren groaned rolling over to look at the clock on her nightstand. 10:30am it read. She was supposed to meet Kelsey at 11.

Kelsey snickered, "Well I figured since my phone was ringing off the hook this am, I'd spread the love."  
Maren was still half asleep and wasn't sure what Kelsey was talking about. She continued, "Get dressed. See you at Kingtower Bistro in an hour!" she said and hung up.

Maren rubbed her eyes. Her mouth was dry and she had a headache, but smiled when she thought of Brian's strong arms around her. Suddenly she sat up straight. Shit she thought to herself and grabbed her phone again. Brian. "Dammit," she whispered under her breath. Brian was her boss. She was their tour manager. She couldn't do this. "Dammit" she said louder as she scrolled through her phone. There were 2 missed calls from unknown numbers and several texts. Crawling out of her bed, she flung the curtains shut and sat back down.. suddenly becoming aware of what Kelsey meant when she said her phone was ringing off the hook.

Taking a deep breathe, she opened her texts.

JASON: So this is why you don't want to get back together? Cause you're fucking your boss?!   
In his text was a hyperlink.. but she didn't click on it. She moved on to the next message.

JOE: So... you look like you had a nice night. :)  
And in his text was the same hyperlink. "Fuck" Maren said under her breath when she finally realized what was happening.

JAMES: About damn time he got his head out of his ass!   
Murr spared her the hyperlink. Tears welling in her eyes, she threw her phone on her bed and rubbed her temples. She grabbed a pillow and shoved her face in it and screamed "FUCK" at the top of her lungs. 

 

____________________________________________

The knocking at the door continued as Brian stumbled down the stairs of his house and towards the front door. He struggled to put on a T-Shirt as he reached the handle of the front door. Leaned against the door jam with two coffees and a bag in his hand was his best friend, Sal, still knocking on the door as Brian opened it.

"There he is, Loverboy," Sal laughed as he walked through the door.

Brian gave him a puzzled look. "Lover boy?"

Sal set down the coffees and bag on the kitchen island. "Oh, wait .. you don't mean.. you don't remember texting me last night?!" Sal has a shit eating grin from ear to ear. He was gonna have some fun with this. After all, for the last 2 years, he was right. 

Brian slowly walked back in to the kitchen as everything from the night before came back to him. The smell of Maren's hair and the sound of her voice when she sang. Her amazing ass he finally got to feel and the taste of her lips. 

"I think I'm in love with Maren," Sal stood with his cellphone in his hand, the other hand resting on his hip. He was thoroughly enjoying this.

Brian took a seat at the island and opened up the bag. He started cutting a bagel as he nodded and smiled, face bright red.

"You are right Sal, you have been for 2 years," Sal continued reading from the text, even though they both know he didn't send that.

"Funny, so you decided to show up here to.. what? See if she was here?" he wasn't looking at Sal, instead spreading cream cheese on his bagel.

"Oh god no.. I didn't even think of that," Sal said slightly disgusted at the idea of him showing up at Brian's house while a naked Maren was upstairs.

Brian laughed at the look on Sal's face. "Ok so, now what. What do you want me to say? Yes, you were right, ok. I have feelings for Maren. She's pretty amazing." Brian said sitting back with his arms folded across his chest. He was smiling and Sal couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Wow.. you finally admit it," Sal said taking a seat across from Brian. His phone dinged and he looked down at the text message.

"Shit... Brian you're gonna wanna see this," he said looking at the photo, before he reluctantly handed it across the island to Brian.

Brian took one look, and the excited feeling he had thinking about Maren dissolved into anger.

"FUCK" 

__________________________________________

In midtown Manhattan, Maren walked in to Kingtower Bistro with a baseball cap pulled down low and sunglasses. She felt like everyone was looking at her, even though they probably weren't. She decided not to look at the hyperlink story until she was with Kelsey. 

"Hi, I went ahead and ordered you a drink," Kelsey said when Maren sat down across from her in the booth she grabbed towards the back.

Maren didn't even answer, she just grabbed the martini and finished it in 3 gulps.

"Alrighty then," Kelsey said leaning back. Maren held her hand up to signal for the waitress and ordered another. When the waitress left, Maren took off her sunglasses and looked at Kelsey.

"How bad is it?" Maren leaned closer and spoke lowly to Kelsey.

Kelsey shrugged and chuckled. "Maren relax, Brian isn't Prince Harry and you aren't Megan Markle. Relax." 

Maren's eyebrows hit the ceiling. She was slightly taken aback. 

Kelsey rolled her eyes, knowing she hit a nerve with Maren. "Maybe, Maybe not?!" 

Maren looked at her confused. Kelsey opened up the article on her phone and showed it to Maren. It was Page Six, the notorious gossip column in the NY POST.

"MAYBE, MAYBE NOT?! Is one of New York's Most Eligible Bachelors Taken?

Maren cringed at the headline. The snobby waitress, in the bathroom. "Bitch" Maren whispered under her breath. The picture accompanying the article was innocent. It was just the two of them sitting in the booth with shots in their hands, they both were laughing. Skimming through the article, she noticed there was a quote from Kelsey, "TruTv does not comment on the personal lives of our entertainers. We hope you will give the same in-depth coverage to our 'Cause for a Cure' benefit next month benefiting Cancer research." Maren chuckled, and continued scanning the article. There was another photo of her, her professional photo from LinkedIn, along with an in-depth bio of exactly who Maren Mulligan was and her connection to the guys. This wasn't good.

"Fuuuucckk" Maren squealed and made a fist. "Dammit Kelsey! What do I do?!" Maren said putting the phone back on the table.

"Listen Maren, relax. It's no ones business. This doesn't reflect negatively on anyone. Relax." Kelsey said typing on her phone.

Maren didn't seem convinced. Everything was starting to fall in to place, and now .. this.

Kelsey looked up at her and raised one eyebrow, "So.. did you kiss??!"

Maren groaned. "Sure did, and it was amazing. You were right. He likes me, and Kelsey I think I like him. But this.. this is bad!" she said, her voice filled with defeat. "It can't go any further. I have to talk to him. I'll call you later." Maren said grabbing her purse and standing up.

"Listen Mar, dont do anything just yet. This will blow over. Trust me" Kelsey said standing up from the booth also and giving her a hug. "You deserve to be happy, and judging by the smile on your face in that photo, you look happy."

Maren wasn't listening to Kelsey, her mind going a mile a minute. She hugged her back and turned to leave, grabbing her cell phone from her purse.

She dialed Brian and it rang several times and went to voicemail. She shot him off a text 

"Hey.. call me, we have to talk" 

It felt like a lifetime had passed since she sent it, but 5 minutes later she looked at her phone and there was no reaponse. Damnit. She hailed a cab back to her apartment, wanting nothing more than her bed.

A text came through but it wasn't from him. It was from Sal.

"Maren, you ok?" 

Maybe he knew where Brian was. The cab pulled up at her apartment and she got out, typing as she walked up the stairs.

"Thanks for asking Sal, have you seen Brian today? I have to talk to him" 

She wasn't paying attention to anything but her phone when she came to her floor and ran right into someone standing in front of her door.

"Brian.. you can't be here"


	12. Carve Your Name Into My Bedpost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wishing you all a Happy New Year From myself and Hopedanglesonastring! Hope to bring you much entertainment this year!!

"We need to talk." Brian responded pushing off against the wall. 

"Brian, our faces are all over social media right now." She argued. 

"Yeah..." he paused scratching the back of his head and readjusting his hat, a nervous habit she had seen him do over the years. He let out a nervous laugh, "I saw this morning. That's why I'm here I figured you were freaking out." 

"Brian I can't lose my job." She said confirming his suspicions that she was in fact freaking out. 

"Lose your job?" He questioned, "How would you lose your job?" 

"When I first started as your manager, it was specifically said that we can't become personally involved with the talent." She explained. 

"First of all Maren, you don't work for the network, you work for us, so even if they wanted to fire you, they couldn't. Second of all, although we hate throwing our weight around, we keep that network afloat. They would never do anything to piss us off. Your job is perfectly safe." Brian explained. He hated sounding cocky but he was just being honest, TruTv wasn't even on the map before Impractical Jokers aired. They made that company successful. 

Maren slumped down outside her door, sliding down the wall to the floor. She knew he was right, even though she worked closely with them and had an office there, her paychecks did not come from TruTV. However something had been weighing on her since she left Kelsey at brunch. 

"The only thing that is worrying me is how crazy people can get sometimes." Brian said ignoring the worried look on Maren's face. He took a seat next to her in the hallway and placed a hand on his bent knee. "Listen..." He then sighed trying to find a way to word what he wanted to say, "I don't know what last night was and if you wanna explore it more we can get to that later, but there is a reason I don't publicize anyone I get close to. Fans tend to think they know me and when that happens they voice their opinions on things that are none of their business. And with you being on social media a lot, I don't want you reading negative things." 

Maren listened to his words but was more focused on his hand. He left it firmly on her knee, lightly squeezing it giving her those weird little butterflies she felt most of last night. 

"I like you, Mar. I really really like you." He said lifting her chin and placing a soft kiss to her lips. 

Maren let herself enjoy the kiss. However her mind was about to take over and ruin this moment. A single tear escaped her eye rolling down her cheek. Brian felt the wetness against his face, "Whats wrong?" He asked pulling away. 

"I like you too. I think deep down I always have which is why I'm gonna hate myself in about 5 seconds." She said in a shaky voice.

"What are you talking about?" He asked cocking his head to the side in confusion. 

"Last night was fun and I think you are so sweet for being there for me and making sure I was okay but what happened afterwards was a mistake Brian." She said, the words stinging her as they came out of her mouth. 

"You're not serious." Brian said removing his hand immediately. 

"Brian I'm just not the type of person that can pursue something like this with you, I'm not strong enough for it. Don't forget, I've seen you interact with women on a regular basis these past couple years. They are all over you and you don't make it a secret that you enjoy the attention." 

"So everything I did and said last night just didn't fucking matter?!" He started getting up raising his voice. 

Maren remained seated looking down at the floor. The truth was she knew his lifestyle and had heard nothing positive about relationships come out of his mouth ever. However a big part of her was just scared. She had a feeling that Brian had the power to hurt her worse than any man ever could. 

"Unbelievable." Brian whispered to himself in total disbelief. "You really think I am just some fucking heartless asshole, don't you? I take you somewhere that meant a lot to me, tell you how I feel about you and you just don't give a fuck!" Brian couldn't help but think this was just another example of why he never should put himself out there. 

"I'm not saying I don't give a fuck!" She shouted back. "Last night was amazing but how can I just forget the Q I've known for two years that would yell at me about how stupid relationships are and how love is a sham and is for idiots?" 

"Ya know what Mar...I'm all fucking set. I told you how I felt but you clearly don't believe me. You obsessed over the same asshole for years and now you have someone in front of you that would treat you right but you're too goddamn dumb to see that!" He barked walking away. Before he reached the elevator he turned around one more time, "One more life lesson, don't put yourself out there because in the end you always get burned!" He then slammed his hand against the elevator button refusing to turn around to look back at her as he waiting for the doors to open. 

Once he stepped on it he had to remain in control and not punch the wall. It was funny to him, considering a little over 12 hours ago he had her pinned up against this same elevator kisses her all over and feeling fantastic doing it. "Fucking bitch." He said out loud in the empty elevator. 

Once he reached his Jeep parked on the street he pulled out his phone finding a number in his contacts. He waited for the other end to pick up, "Hey baby, what you doing later? I've been thinking about you a lot." He said in a low husky voice. When his invitation was accepted he smiled, "Great, cant wait to get my hands on that sexy body tonight." As he hung up the phone and started his drive he did the best he could to push any thoughts of Maren out of his mind.   
_______________________________  
Two weeks had passed and things were more awkward than they had ever been. Luckily the guys hadn't had any live shows since that morning outside of Maren's apartment but the tension was felt through group texts and email exchanges between the guys and Maren. Q was more on edge than ever before and Joe, Murr, and Sal didn't know how to handle this situation. Maren hadn't been in the office since social media started buzzing about her night out with Q so the Jokers hadn't even seen her. 

Her texts with Kelsey were kept very short and the only time she was really leaving her house was to run. It was her outlet for all her built up sadness and frustration. 

Tonight was a Tenderloins show at a nearby casino in Connecticut. The guys were going to be performing there all weekend and that meant Maren had to be in attendance there as well. She was looking forward to taking the few hour drive there alone, try and clear her head before she had to be at the Jokers' sides for the next two days. As she was finishing up packing, there was a knock on her door. "Oh come on." She mumbled looking through the peephole and seeing a person she was doing her best to avoid. 

"So you are still breathing." Kelsey said when the door opened. 

"What are you doing here?" Maren groaned, "I gotta get going soon." 

It was then that Kelsey lifted her suitcase, "Yeah I know I'm taking the drive with you." 

Maren knew there was no use in fighting with her friend and just accepted that her drive was not going to as quiet as she had hoped. "Fine but I'll be driving, you're an awful driver." She said checking to make sure her door was locked before shutting it behind her.   
________________________________  
After hours of hearing Kelsey pester her on all things Brian Quinn, it was safe to say Maren was getting a migraine. Since the show was relatively close to New York and at a casino, members of the IJ crew were going to be coming too which meant Maren had to double up on food and drinks. 

As she was backstage preparing for everyone's arrival, she kept looking at the clock on the wall. Jokers should be getting there any minute. Just the thought of actually seeing Brian made her stomach turn. The look in his eyes and the things he had said to her that morning still replayed in her head everyday. "There's my girl!" A voice suddenly called out coming into the room. 

Maren knew that voice anywhere and smiled when she saw Cha, the assistant director for Impractical Jokers. She had been working for the guys for a long time and knew them all extremely well. There would be so many times the two would vent about working for the four Jokers when they would drive the two women insane. "And why have you been hiding?" Cha asked giving Maren a big hug. 

"Because she's a stubborn ass!" Kelsey yelled from the sofa she was sitting on. 

"That's enough outta you!" Maren barked turning to her best friend. "Cha, we will catch up later, I promise!" She said grabbing her hand, "But right now I wanna make sure the stage is ready to go." Maren then quickly scurried out to double check with the stage crew. 

"They still ain't talking?" Cha asked taking a seat next to Kelsey. Even though the IJ crew was bigger nowadays, the gossip still traveled as quickly as ever and it didn't take long for member of the crew to talk about Q and Maren and their photos from social media. 

"They haven't even been in the same room in weeks." Kelsey answered. 

"I gotta say I've seen Q in some moods but nothing compared to how he's been lately. He is literally unbearable." Cha said giving her the inside scoop of how he was on set. 

Kelsey rolled her eyes as Cha spoke, "They both need to get over themselves." 

"Yo yo!" Joe interrupted the ladies conversation. After greeting them Kelsey asked where the others were. 

"Coming along soon. They are finishing checking in to their rooms I think." Joe answered. 

"Ready for an awkward weekend?" She laughed. 

Joe just shook his head in defeat, "I don't even wanna talk about that anymore. I'm exhausted with the subject. It's like watching a fucking tennis match with those two."   
_______________________________  
Maren had done her best to avoid the Green Room where the Jokers and their guests were. They had two shows tonight and had just finished the first one and were now taking a little break before the later show started. She knew she couldn't stay hidden forever so decided now was a good a time as any to check in and see if they needed anything. 

She walked into a crowded room. She checked in with Murr and Joe who assured her they were fine and when she searched the room for the other half of the Tenderloins her heart sunk. Q was leaning against a nearby wall sipping on a beer with a girl pressed up very close to his body. She was one of the crew members friends that Maren had seen a couple other times but whenever she was around, she was always glued to Q. 

Maren tried to avoid staring but she couldn't help it. She noticed that he had this arrogant smile plastered to his face like he was enjoying this girl hanging onto every word he was saying. 

It didn't take long for Q to feel someone staring at him and when he looked up he saw Maren right away. "Sup." He called out to her. 

"Nothing just checking to see if you needed anything before the second show." She answered trying to stay composed. 

"Don't need anything from you." Q replied in a cocky tone then diverted his attention back to the girl by his side. 

"Good." Maren snapped turning away refusing to let him see the hurt in her eyes. 

Sitting nearby, Sal had witnessed the whole interaction and couldn't believe what he had just seen. He knew their conversation a couple weeks ago didn't go as planned and he also knew that Q was masking his hurt by acting like a dick but this was getting ridiculous. He had stayed quiet long enough; he knew he had to say something...tonight.


	13. Cause I Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend

Maren thanked the stage director and crew through her earpiece for a great night of shows and said she’d meet everyone tomorrow at 3:30pm for final show walkthrough. 

The show ended about 45 minutes ago, and the guys were already gone. Maren removed her earpiece and mic pac she used to communicate with the crew during the show and walked back to grab her things from the green room. Her hotel bed was the only place she wanted to be after this incredibly long day.

“Ya, you thought we’d left. Nope. Ha. Get a move. We’re going out,” came Cha’s voice surprising Maren who wasn’t expecting to see her and Kelsey waiting for her when she walked in.

Maren held her hands up, “Oh no. That is NOT happening. I want a bath and my bed.” Flinging her bag over her shoulder, she gathered up her things and headed towards the door, not even daring to look in Kelsey’s direction.

“No. You are having fun tonight. We’re going dancing” Kelsey quickly moved between Maren and the door, stopping Maren in her tracks.

She turned around and faced Cha, “I don’t even have clothes for that. It’s not happening.” Maren said, feeling the migraine from earlier creeping back up.

“Already taken care of baby girl.” Cha said nodding towards Kelsey.

Kelsey grinned, grabbing her bags and shrugging towards Maren, “You forget I have a key to your apartment.” Kelsey said winking, looking pleased with herself.

Maren rolled her eyes as the distinct sound of Cha’s cackle eased her annoyance and a smile broke through onto her face . She was thankful for these two friends of hers, seeing the length they went to.

“Fine. Fine!!” Maren said throwing her hands up in the air.   
“You deserve to have some fun momma. Take your mind off shit.” Cha said leaning against the back of one of the sofas.   
Kelsey nodded in agreement, “Yes! You do! Have a drink, we’ll dance and laugh and have fun! You DO know how to have fun!” Kelsey stressed, nudging her shoulder.  
Maren smiled and tried to push the worrisome thought out of her head. This was the first time since the article came out that she could possily come in contact with fans. She successfully navigated any negative comments online but she knew they were there.  
Even though Joe apparently drilled it into his head to keep his mouth shut, Murr still slipped in front of her one day and mentioned the comments on Reddit, Instagram and Twitter. “Dick,” was all Joe managed to say as he slapped Murr upside his head that day.

“Fine. Alright. Let’s go,” Maren shrugged, emotionless and walked out of the room. Kelsey and Cha exchanged questioning looks, shrugging as they followed her out, hoping to snap this girl out of it.

_____________________________________________

The van pulled up to the employee entrance underneath the hotel, a short drive from the venue in the hotel they performed at. One by one the 4 men got out, Murr jumped out first excitedly typing on his phone, follow by Joe who was on the phone with Bessy.

Perfect time for Sal to grab Brian. Q flipped his backpack on his shoulder and adjusted his hat as he got out of the van. Sal stumbled to get out of the back of the van, juggling his AirPods and his phone while pulling his luggage.

“Q man, wait up.” Brian didn’t slow down. “I’m serious man, stop being a dick.” Sal wasn’t gonna let Brian get out of this talk. He had had enough.

Yet, the man who’s brown eyes hid pain behind anger, and who’s baseball cap is his security blanket, wasn’t in the mood for his best friends lecture. And stubborn was in Brian Quinn’s blood. “No” was said with a sternness that Sal hadn’t heard come out of his best friends mouth in a while. Still, he wasn’t backing down.

“You’re hurt man, I get it. I do. But your head is so far up your ass, you don’t even realize you’re at fault here.” Sal said catching up to Brian now that he had stopped dead in his tracks. The heat started right under his neck and spread quickly to his ears. Face red, one hand clenched in a fist from the sting of his best friends words. Enraged he spun around to face Sal. He took a few steps closer to Sal quickly and looked his best friend in the eye and said “Fuck you” loud enough that a few nearby employees looked their way.

The two men stood silent looking at each other for a second. Sal well aware he touched a nerve, he gave Brian a minute to cool down before he said anything else. Brian’s breathing slowed down and his face become less red.

“You can’t be mad at her,” Sal calmly said, in the nicest way possible as to not hurt his friend. 

 

Brian staresd at him. “Every. Single. Time. You always side with her,” Brian said turning to walk away. It seemed childish, but Brian Michael Quinn wasn’t the playboy his reputation lead everyone to believe. He struggled with self esteem and depression, and hearing his best friend side with the girl who held his heart yet rejected him, hurt. 

“Like I said man, I get it. You’re hurt. You opened yourself up and she shot you down. Brian you’ve been here. I’ve been here. We both know Maren has been there. We all handle things our own way. Some drink, some do drugs, some don’t get out of bed. You though, you turn into a stubborn asshole.”

Brian threw his arms up in the air as he let out a gafaw. Sal continued, “I saw you tonight. The catering girls friend. You don’t even know her name. You knew Maren was watching.” Brian stood there silent staring at Sal, who continued “Then when you actually DID speak to her, you were an absolute douche. Come on man, we both know what you’re doing. The day you and Mar talked, what did you do right after? You picked up your phone and called a rando.”  
Brian rolled his eyes knowing his best friend just called him out on his shit.

Sal wasn’t done. “You just now realized Maren may be great, but the rest of us already knew she was. You don’t get to be a dick to her man. Her job is to plan. To pay attention to details. To find solutions. To make things work. She’s known you for 2 years now. She’s seen girl after girl, she’s heard TESD, she knows you. Your track record. Your comments about marriage. Your thoughts on wanting kids. The things some of the fans say about the girls you date online. And yet you honestly think for a second that doesn’t terrify her? Come on Brian. She’s protecting herself. She chose to do it by being an adult and communicating her feelings. You’re doing it by lashing out and being a dick to her.” Sal said so matter of factly, it made Brian feel bad for being so mad in the first place.   
Brian felt what Sal just said. He had no rebuttal. Sal was absolutely correct. Not wanting to look Sal in the face, all he could do at this point was turn and walk away. Not before Sal challenged him. “Be better Briam.”

_____________________________________________

Back in room 4091, Kelsey, Cha and Maren had popped a bottle of champagne and were getting all dolled up.

Between Kelsey and Maren alone, the bathroom looked like a Mac makeup store. Music was playing from someone’s phone and Cha & Kelsey were secretly giving each other high fives as their plan seemed to be working. Maren was relaxed and laughing.

“Really Kels? All of the clothes in my closet, and you pic out this?!” Mar said holding up a short black leather mini skirt that hadn’t been worn in years.

“You got legs Maren. Use them. Flaunt them. Show them off to the world.” Kelsey said dramatically as she did a little dance showing off her legs.

Cha laughed “Dont forget the booty either momma. Baby’s got BACK!” The three girls cracked up. Cha pulled out her phone and started taking video for her Instagram Story. 

Once they were all primped and prepped, the 3 girls looked in the mirror. Maren was wearing the black mini skirt, black boots, and a fancy silk emerald green one shoulder strapless top. Her eyes totally popped in that color and she paid extra attention to her makeup and hair tonight. “Fuck it” she thought to herself. She deserved to have some fun and that’s what she was gonna do.

Cha pulled out her phone and snapped another pic and uploaded it to her Instagram. “Ladies, lets do this!”

___________________________________________

Brian emerged from the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his wait, hair wet. He walked right over to his mini bar and grabbed a beer, ignoring the beeping coming from his cell phone on the nightstand as he took a swig. He had no desire to communicate with the outside world at the moment. Maren was on his mind and Sals words from earlier hit him hard. He knew his best friend was right. As much as it hurt to hear what Maren said, and to work along side her and see her all the time, he knew she didn’t deserve to be treated the way he had. He let out a deep breathe and thought back to how perfect that night was on the roof of that apartment building, and wished it wouldn’t have ended.

Another text sounding from his phone snapped him back to reality. 

“So, wanna finish our conversation from early tonight in my room? It’s room 4089. I’ll be waiting” the mystery number said. Sal was right.. he didn’t even know her name. 

“I’m going to pass. But it was good catching up” Brian found himself typing out the response without a second thought. “Be better” he mumbled to himself as he rubbed his face and sighed. 

Putting on a a pair of boxers, he laid across the bed and opened Instagram. He immediately noticed Cha’s Instagram stories and clicked on it. He wasn’t expecting to see videos and photos of Maren. His stomach did flips. She looked really good. He was surprised she’d go out after 2 shows, it wasn’t like her, but he also knew Cha and Kelsey could be persuasive. 

“This is how we do it!” Cha’s voice yelled above the music, video panning around at a VIP section roped off where Kelsey, Maren and her were all seated. There were several bottles of alcohol on their table, and Kelsey was leaning over talking into the ear of a guy he didn’t recognize. Maren was standing and dancing with her back towards the camera, until Cha tapped her on the shoulder and she turned around facing the camera.

“Look at this one. LOOK AT HER EYES. This is my babygirl right here! Ms. Maren!! Muah. Love you” she said plopping a kiss on Maren’s cheek. “Right back at ya Cha” came Mar’s voice before the Instastory moved on to the next video. This time, Maren was leaning over talking to the guy Kelsey was previously and Brian was not happy about it. Kelsey and Cha were talking to the camera, drinks clearly flowing. But Brian was fixated on the two seated on the couch. This guy was too close to her. Brian didn’t like it.

Getting dressed in jeans and a button up, he walked in the bathroom and took a look in the mirror making sure his hair looked ok.  
He walked down the hallway and banged on Sals door.

“Yo,” Sal said when he opened the door. Brian breezed right by him, clearly frazzled.  
“Come with me downstairs to the club,” Brian said pacing back and forth.

Sal looked at him with an empty expression “Why?”

“Cause Maren and the girls are there. I just want to keep an eye on things,” Brian said knowing Sal wasn’t gonna go for it.

Sal shook his head in disbelief. “Did you not hear anything I said before?” 

“What Sal?! You told me to be better, this is me trying!!” Brian was at his wits end at this point. 

“By spying on her?!” Sals voice got really high pitched. 

Brian shook his head. “Ya know, earlier you said it’s her job to pay attention to details and find solutions etc. Yet did it ever occur to you that she just straight up believes I’m this playboy! That I’m really not this player?!” Brian said voice getting loud.

Sal shook his head and sat down on the bed. “Listen man.. have you ever wondered why you two don’t get along and butt beads as much as you do? It’s because she knows you can be better. She knows you settle. Remember that article you wrote for StarWars.com? About Han & Leia. Her and I had a conversation about it one day a long time ago. She loved what you wrote. She told me she was happy people were seeing the real “Q” and not this facade you put on.”

Brian was taken aback a little. “How come you never told me that?” 

Sal shrugged, “You two never got a long, it didn’t matter. You wouldn’t have cared what she thought.”

Brian sat silent for a little while. He wanted to check Cha’s insta story again but he didn’t. “ I don’t like that she’s out at this club.. what if she runsinto some crazy fans?! What is she thinking going out with Cha.. Cha has fans that follow her Insta, they are gonna share these videos and rip on Maren” Brian was getting more frustrated and angry the longer he thought about it.

“Maren’s a big girl Bri” Sal reminded him.

Brian put his hands in his head and let out a loud “UGH”

“What do I do Sal???!”

Sal shook his head, “Don’t go to the club. Let her have fun with the girls. Go get some rest. Sleep on it.”

Brian nodded and got up to leave. Sal walked him to the door and gave him a pat on the back. “I love you man. You know that. Things will work out.” 

“Doesn’t seem like it at the moment,” Brian said as he walked out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone is interested in the article referenced, here it is! 
> 
> https://www.starwars.com/news/my-favorite-scene-i-love-you-i-know
> 
> And as always co-written with Hopedanglesonastring


	14. Only Bought This Dress So You Could Take It Off...Take It Off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co-writer is the lovely Hopedanglesonastring as always!

Maren got off the elevator followed by Greg. They had met downstairs at the club and hit it off very well. She was thankful that Cha and Kelsey made her come out tonight. It was fun and the fact that she drank and let loose with her friends was something she was lacking. Both women gave her the thumbs up when they heard Greg say he wanted to walk her back to her room. 

"Thanks for a fun night. It was great meeting you." She said fishing for the key from her purse. 

"Well the night doesn't have to end." Greg smiled leaning against her door. 

"Oh...ummm" Maren smiled nervously not knowing how to turn this guy down. Stuff like this normally didn't happen to her, "Greg I'm sorry if me accepting your offer to walk me upstairs made you think something was gonna happen but I'm calling it a night." 

"I thought we were having fun." Greg questioned. He then leaned down for a kiss. 

Maren immediately unlocked her door now annoyed that he wasn't taking the hint and trying to force himself on her, "Goodnight Greg." She said coldly slamming the door in his face. 

Maren stood on her tiptoes looking through the peephole watching Greg make his way down the hall. "Unbelievable." She muttered to herself then kicked off her shoes rubbing her barefoot against the carpet. She definitely had fun but it was nights like this that reminded her of how much of a club person she wasn't. 

Guys flocked around them like desperate seagulls at the beach and a lot of women recognized Cha from the show and kept asking if the guys were around. Greg seemed like a nice guy to dance with and laugh with but she had no intentions of things going any further than that. 

Being beyond exhausted Maren collapsed on the bed not even bothering to undress or wipe her makeup off. Within seconds she was dozing off.   
________________________________  
Brian was done pacing. He was also done refreshing his Instagram page every 12 seconds to see if Cha posted anything else. "What is happening to me?" He asked himself out loud. Brian was obsessing over this woman and the fact that he had no idea what she was doing or where she was was driving him closer and closer to insanity. Putting his sneakers back on and grabbing a hoodie he knew he wasn't going to sleep until he knew that she was back in her room...alone. 

He took the elevator 1 floor down. Maren always made it a habit of emailing the guys what room she was in, just in case she wasn't answering her phone for whatever reason. 

He reached her door and knocked. When she didn't answer he knocked harder. After a 2nd failed attempt he knocked even harder. Finally the door swung open and a very aggravated looking Maren answered. "Do you have any idea what time it is?!"

"I wanna be better." He said blurting our the first thing that came to his mind. 

"Huh?" She asked completely confused. 

"I wanna be better." He repeated. 

"Q, what the hell are you talking about?" She asked. 

"Are you alone?" He questioned.

"Excuse me? Of course I'm alone!" She answered kind of insulted.

He let out a sigh of relief, "Can I come in?" 

She stepped back to let him enter. It was now close to 3am and he was outside her room babbling nonsense. "How drunk are you?" She asked. 

"I've been drinking but trust me, I've never thought clearer in my life." He answered. 

She stomped her foot in total frustration, "What the hell are you talking about?!" 

It was then that Brian decided to lay it all out on the line. "I like you Maren, I like you more than I have ever liked someone in my entire life. I mean Jesus Christ...I've been up all night thinking about what you are doing and nervous as hell that you came back here with some guy. It was driving me crazy." 

Maren just wasn't buying it, she didn't know why Brian was saying these things but she just wasn't totally convinced. She crossed her arms over her chest, "So was this before or after you fucked that cheap looking girl from the green room? Ya know the one you tried to embarrass me in front of?!" She shot back. 

"First of all I didn't fuck her...I mean I could have but I didn't." He responded. 

Maren threw her hands up in the air completely giving up with this man, "That's your come back?! I didn't fuck her BUT I could have?! Do you hear yourself?!" 

"That's what I'm trying to tell you, I didn't because I couldn't stop thinking about you, don't you get it?!" He shouted back. 

Maren put her hands over her face trying to contain the scream she wanted to yell out, "I like you too but I'm not strong enough to even attempt getting any closer to you than I already am." 

"What's that supposed to me?" He asked. 

"Brian..." She then let out a massive sigh, "I spent years of my life in a relationship that completely destroyed my self-confidence. And he wasn't even close to you." 

"I'm not following. You saying I'm worse than that asshole?" He questioned. 

"No...yes...I mean...ugh!" She then plopped down on the bed not even knowing how to form a god damn sentence at the moment. This man completely took away her ability to think. "What I'm trying to say is for as long as I've know you, women are constantly wanting to be around you and so many throw themselves at you. And then the second you and I have an argument, you throw that in my face like you did earlier. How can I trust that you won't do that again? Do you have any idea how much it would hurt if you were to do that if we were actually together." 

"But I wouldn't." Brian defended. "Look, I know I've shit talked relationships but when I'm in one, I'm all in. I've never cheated and never would." 

Maren couldn't believe what was happening. Brian Quinn, the absolute biggest discourager of relationships and anything having to do with love was actually saying these things to her. A man that she hadn't been able to stop thinking about for weeks on end was actually expressing the desire to be with her. "You just...you scare me Brian. And I refuse to be hurt like I've been before. I'm sorry." 

At this point he had nothing left in him, without another word he turned leaving her room slamming the door behind him. 

Maren cried herself to sleep that night.  
________________________________  
Maren decided the next morning it was best to keep what happened to herself so when Kelsey kept asking her what was wrong, she just simply had to answer with the same excuse of being tired and not feeling well. She knew Kelsey wasn't buying it but luckily she didn't push any further and after awhile gave up asking. 

She hadn't heard from any of the guys except a quick text from Murr asking if there was anyway to move up sound check because they wanted to grab dinner with an old friend. She confirmed with the venue and said it was all set for them. 

Maren took the afternoon to relax. She couldn't get her mind off of what Brian had said last night and was started to wonder if she was being stupid, she contemplated talking to him more before the show tonight. Luckily the hotel spa had a last minute cancellation and she was able to get in. After clearing her head a little bit it was decided she was going to talk to Brian and see how serious he actually was.   
_______________________________  
Maren was in the green room putting the finish preps for the guys. The room was set with drinks and snacks. Her stomach dropped when she heard the guys enter, the fact that she was about to talk to Brian about her true feelings was giving her such butterflies. She knew she probably hurt his feelings pretty bad last night so there was no surprise when she noticed he was avoiding eye contact with her. Right when she was about to open her mouth and ask if she could talk to him privately, she was interrupted. "Maren!" One of the stage crew members shouted. "We can't get the audio working." 

Annoyed Maren turned around, "I told them last night, it's the white auxiliary cord in the back of the laptop." 

"We did that, we have the visual on the screen but there's no sound." The stage guy responded. 

"It worked during sound check just fine." Maren responded. "Forget it, I'll be right there to figure it out." She groaned. Her talk with Brian would have to wait.   
_______________________________  
After noticing a loose cord behind one of the power strips, Maren made her way back to green room a few minutes later. She checked her watch and decided there was still plenty of time to talk to Brian so she hurried back. 

"That cocktail waitress was so fucking hot at dinner." She heard Brian say before she entered the room. 

Maren paused at the door waiting to hear more of the conversation. 

"Which one?" Murr asked. 

"The brunette with the huge fucking jugs. I got her number before I left, definitely hitting that tonight." Brian responded. 

Outside the room, Maren balled her fists up. He was never gonna change. Still just looking to screw as many women as he could. She entered the room and made her way over to the table to grab a drink. One thing that Maren never did was drink while working but right now she needed something to calm down. Here she was about to express her feelings and ignore her fears and this asshole was already planning the next girl to suck his dick. 

Brian wasn't even acknowledging that she was in the room so she stood by the table taking long swigs of her beer. This caught Joe's attention, he didn't say anything but he definitely gave her a questioning look that she ignored. 

Maren finished her first beer in record time and quickly opened another. Brian still had his back turned towards her. His phone dinged informing of an incoming text. "Little miss hottie is down to party tonight. Bringing a friend, you down?" He asked Sal. 

That was the final straw for Maren, she didn't know what came over her but the anger was too much to take and the only thing she could think off was taking the remainder of her second beer, walking up to Q and dumping it over his head. She knew it was incredibly immature but she just didn't care. 

Q sat in shock that he now had beer all over him. The three other Jokers were frozen not knowing what to even say. "Are you out of your fucking mind?!" Q yelled when he finally came to. 

"Sorry you looked thirsty." She snapped. 

"I'm covered in beer!" He yelled. 

"Tell someone who cares." She responded turning around. 

Brian jumped off his seat and immediately grabbed the first thing he could find, which happened to be a bowl of hummus. "Well if I'm thirsty, you look fucking hungry. Here!" He screamed dumping the bowl upside down on her head. 

"Ahhh!" She screamed underneath the creamy food now dripping down her face. "Asshole! She shouted taking salsa and flinging it across the room at him. 

Next was a gallon of iced tea flying at Maren's blouse staining it instantly. "I'm an asshole?! What the fuck are you?!" 

"Guys! Guys!" Joe was screaming over the chaos. 

"Oh my god!" Sal shouted hightailing it to a nearby broom closet not wanting to get caught in the crossfire. Neither were listening, the only thing on Maren and Brian's minds were finding the next thing to throw at one another. 

Brian was now picking up chicken salad finger sandwiches and whipping them at Maren. "You have really lost it!" He screamed at her. 

"Me?! I'm not the one that was talking lies last night!" She shouted. 

"Lies?! I told you I fucking liked you!" He yelled grabbing a fist full of coleslaw and throwing it across the room. 

"Guys knock it off!" Murray yelled. 

"Make them fucking stop!" Sal screamed from the closet. "These sneakers are brand new!" 

"Maren! Q! Stop!" Joe yelled trying to grab an opened carton of milk from Maren. She however was faster than him and hurled it straight at Brian's head spilling milk everywhere. 

"Yeah and it took you no time at all to move on to some cocktail waitress! Exactly what I said last night, how the fuck can I trust someone like you?! Only thing your concerned with is getting your dick wet!" She shouted looking for her next weapon. Only thing within reach was a bowl of cashews that she grabbed a handful flinging them in Q's direction. 

Down the hall, Kelsey and Cha heard a loud commotion, and booked it down the hall recognizing the voices. "What the hell?!" Cha yelled when the door flew opened. 

"Maren!" Kelsey yelled trying to bring her best friend back down to earth. No one had ever seen anything like this in their lives. The walls, couches, and carpets were covered in multiple different foods and liquids. Maren and Q were both drenched in so many different variations of foods and were currently engaged in a screaming match. Murr and Joe were doing their best to referee this while Sal was peeking out from a closet screaming about his sneakers. 

"ENOUGH!!!!" Joe finally screamed as loud as humanly possible. This finally quieted the room and Q and Maren put down the next things they planned on throwing. 

It wasn't often anyone saw Joe Gatto mad but right now he was beside himself. "My kids don't even act like this!" 

Maren and Q both looked down in embarrassment. "Look at Sal for Christ sakes!" Joe yelled pointing behind them. "Guys in a fucking closet cuz of you two! Look at this mess!" He said now looking around at the carnage they caused. Milk and beer had stained the carpets, cole slaw and chicken salad were coming down the walls, everywhere you looked was destroyed. "Now I don't know what the fuck is going on with the two of you but you better figure your shit out!" 

"Sorry Joe." They both responded in unison. 

"Now we are supposed to be on that stage in less than an hour. How do you expect that to happen looking like that?!" He yelled at Q who was covered in so many different combinations of things. 

"We're gonna get billed for this mess, ya know." Murray added. 

"We're not getting billed for anything. Q and Maren will be paying for this mess." Joe announced. "Go clean yourselves up so we can hopefully get on stage at a reasonable hour tonight!" Joe said shaking his head. "And Sal get out of that fucking broom closet!" Joe yelled behind him leaving the room. 

"I'll go get you both some fresh clothes from upstairs, give me your room keys." Cha said. 

Once everyone left the destroyed room, Q and Maren just stared at each other not even know what to say. Without speaking they quickly got to work cleaning up what they could.


	15. Inescapable, I’m Not Even Gonna Try

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co-written with Hopedanglesonastring

Kelsey and Joe stood in front of each other dumbfounded.

“I mean what the fuck?!” Joe looked over at Kelsey, hoping she had some kind of answer but she was just as dumbfounded as Joe but she just shook her head.

“I have absolutely no idea. I’ve never seen her like that. Something seemed off with her today and I kept asking, but she just insisted she didn’t feel good.” 

Joe shook his head, “This shit has to end.” Kelsey nodded in agreement.

“You talk to him. I’ll talk to her. Let’s re-connect after and compare notes. Sound good?” Joe nodded in agreement and headed back towards the green room. On his way, he ran across Brian, wiping food off his arms and head as he walked.

“Listen man, what the hell? We have to talk. This shit has to stop.” Joe said blocking Brian’s path.

Brian nodded, “Don’t worry Joe. It won’t happen again. Ever. It’s done,” Brian explained annoyed as he walked around Joe and away from the scene of the crime

____________________________________________

Back in the green room, Maren was on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor with towels. The gravity of what had happened was starting to hit her. She tried to keep herself from crying, but a few tears escaped. She jumped a little and was startled when she heard the green room door open. Holding her breath, she was actually relieved to see it was Kelsey.

Without saying a word, Kelsey got down on the ground and helped Kelsey clean. She knew Maren would start talking when she was ready, but she didn’t think it would happen so quickly.

“I know Kelsey. Trust me. I’m kicking myself. My anger got the best of me. I know. I’m beating myself up enough.” Maren didn’t look in Kelsey’s direction once.

Kelsey just shrugged, “I didn’t say anything.”   
Maren was thankful she wasn’t going to get the third degree from her friend. Her mind was going a mile a minute and she was well aware she messed up.

“But you and him.... have to figure it out. This can’t happen again. That’s all I’m gonna say.” Kelsey stood up and continued trying to clean hummus off the walls,

Maren leaned back on her knees. “Oh believe me, it won’t. That’s for sure.”

____________________________________________

 

Brian exited the elevator on his floor, thankful that no one noticed him or the fact that he was covered in food. He had to be quick but he needed to shower before they went on stage.

“Hey” Cha said in the hallway as she handed Brian back his room key and a pair of fresh clothes she was bringing to him.

“Thanks, but I have to shower, there’s food in my hair,” Brian said taking his clothes and continuing to walk.

“You gonna be ok?” Cha asked as she followed Brian a little ways down the hall.

Brian sighed loudly and rested his head against the door. “I don’t know what to do Cha.”

Cha leaned against the wall. “ Brian, you’re one of the nicest guys I know. Deep down, Maren knows that too. There’s a lot that comes with dating one of you guys. It’s not easy to jump into. Give it time. That’s my advice. Just give it time.” Cha said patting him on the shoulder as she headed down the hallways towards the elevator.

“Cha.. thanks” Brian said. Cha nodded and disappeared into the elevator. Brian disappeared into his room.  
___________________________________________

Maren took a bath towel and rubbed down the mirror, in her bathroom quickly. She had decided to also run back to her room, shower and change quickly also. She didn’t want the rest of the stage crew seeing her covered in food. No one other than who was in that room needed to know what happened. Maren arranged to have a cleaning crew scrub down the green room while everyone was on stage. She covered the cost since she actually was the one that started it all.

She flew around her room, grabbing clothes out of the closet and quickly applying makeup. She didn’t have much time and after one more glance in the mirror decided she looked as good as it was gonna get.

Bolting down the hall, she pushed the elevator button a few times. “Come on..” she muttered under her breath. Once the doors opened, she came face to face with Brian. She wanted to be angry, but she couldn’t. He looked absolutely dejected and exhausted.

They looked at each other for what felt like an eternity. Neither one spoke because neither knew what to say. Finally, Maren entered the elevator. She could feel Brian’s eyes staring at her as the warmth rose up her body to her ears.  
The elevator continued its descent. Without thinking, which honestly Maren wasn’t doing much of lately, she whipped around quickly and gently kissed Brian. To her surprise, he gently kissed her back. They both opened their eyes and looked at each other as the elevator came to a stop. The doors opened and neither moved. Maren snapped out of it once she realized they had to hurry. They were in the employee entrance under the hotel. “There’s a golf cart waiting to take you back to the venue. Go” she said quietly. He bolted out towards where security was waiting for him in the golf cart. He looked at her as they drove away. 

The last show in CT went off perfectly. No one spoke again of the incident between Q and Maren  
____________________________________________

A week passed since the guys last live show. It was Monday morning back at the TruTv offices. The guys had a 9am meeting with Kelsey and the people from the charity “Cause for a Cure” to discuss the upcoming benefit. It was only a week away, so they were going over the final details and responsibilities since the guys were the hosts.

After about an hour, Kelsey walked the co-chairs from the charity out leaving the guys to talk amongst themselves.

Murr turned to Sal, “Hey, are you bringing anyone?”

Sal didn’t look up from his cellphone were he was typing furiously. “Just my moms and pop” Sal said shrugging it off.

Murr turned towards Brian, “Are you?” he asked with an eyebrow raised.

Brian shook his head and leaned back in his chair. “Nope.”

Kelsey walked back in and took a seat, “Alright does anyone have any questions?” She looked around at the guys. They all shook their heads.

“Ok. We have a staging run through Thursday night at 8pm at The Waldorf, then that’s it before Saturday. All your tux’s have been provided by a boutique called Dawson’s Designs. They will be messengered over by Wednesday. Does anyone have any changes to the guest list?” Kelsey asked looking through her notepad. 

Brian’s mind was racing. He knew that name. Dawson’s designs. It suddenly came to him.

“Yeah can you add Tara to that list please for me,” Murr spoke up.

Collectively all the other guys groaned. Tara was Murr’s on again off again ex. No one could stand her. Half the time Murr couldn’t. 

Kelsey chuckled, “Sure Murr. I’ll put her on the list. Alright guys, that’s all I got. Call or email me with any questions. If anything else comes up in the meantime I’ll be in touch. Thanks all.”

One by one the guys got up and filtered out of the room. Kelsey was still seated and noticed Brian hadn’t gotten up yet.

“Did you want to talk about anything Brian?” Kelsey said glancing in Brian’s direction as she looked through her folder.

“Actually yeah.” Brian said quietly. Kelsey stopped what she was doing to give him her full attention. She noticed he seemed rather nervous. “A few weeks ago,” he wasn’t looking at her, but made eye contact when he said her name, “Maren saw a dress in the window of that boutique, the one who is doing our tux’s.” Brian explained. “Would it be possible that you can arrange for them to lend her the dress for the evening?” Brian said sincerely.

Kelsey wanted to jump around the room and say “Yes yes yes!” but the professional she was squandered those thoughts quickly.

She smiled politely towards him. “That’s a nice thought Brian. Do you remember what the dress looked like? I can definitely make the call” she said jotting down some notes.

Brian raised an eyebrow, “Well.. it was blue. Like, dark blue,” he said shrugging. 

Kelsey hid her amusement and just nodded. She’ll have to look up the day Maren had dinner with Jason, she figured that was when Maren saw the dress while with Brian.

“Ok no problem, I’ll make a few calls Brian and see what I can do.” Kelsey nodded.

Brian smiled and stood up, “Thanks Kels, and can you keep it a secret please. I would appreciate it,” he said as he went to exit the conference room.

“Sure thing Bri,” Kelsey said smiling. Brian had never asked her for anything like this before for himself, nevermind for someone else. She knew it probably wasn’t easy for him to ask, knowing how close the two of them were. Kelsey smiled to herself. “Things just might work out between these two after all”, she thought to herself.


	16. And If I Get Burned...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co-written with Hopedanglesonastring:)

Maren watched from one of the tables set up as the Jokers and some Tru executives stood on stage going on final preps for the charity event they were involved in. She felt her phone vibrate for what must have been the 20th time today; she didn't even have to look, she knew who it was. Funny how life works, not long ago she was begging for Jason to call, now she couldn't get rid of the guy. He was still leaving her voicemail after voicemail demanding to know if she was involved with her boss and where she got off embarrassing him in public like she had. 

Kelsey waved but was too busy to come over since she was running around like a crazy person with other network people. TruTv was not a huge network and even though they housed a very popular show, they weren't as huge as they wanted to be. A successful charity event could really put their name out there. 

Maren hit the ignore button yet again with another incoming call. This was getting to be borderline harassment. 

The Jokers seemed to be done for the moment so they hopped off the stage making a quick plate of food and joining Maren at the table she was vacating. "Everything looks good guys." She smiled. She still felt a little awkward about the massive fight in Connecticut even though after that night it was never mentioned again. 

"Sup Guys!" One of the executive producers from Tru, Simmy, greeted them. 

As he talked to her bosses she felt her phone yet again and figured with everyone distracted she would just answer the stupid asshole. 

"You really need to stop calling me." She snapped in a harsh whisper. 

"And you really need to start answering my questions." He yelled on the other end. 

" No I don't." She responded. 

As Simmy went on and on, Q's attention was focused on Maren and a heated phone conversation she seemed to be in at the moment. 

"Jason I'm serious, enough!" She said trying to get her point across but still keep her voice down. 

"You stopped talking to me cuz you're fucking your boss, just admit it!" Jason yelled. 

"No! I stopped talking to you because I finally realized what a controlling stuck up asshole you are. I'm not saying it again, Leave. Me. Alone." She emphasized each word then quickly ended the call. 

Maren sat back down and pulled out her tablet to see if she had any new emails to answer. After a few minutes she had become so caught up and responding to the travel agent about the guys' upcoming London trip, that she hadn't noticed all the Jokers were gone expect for one. 

Q sat silently a couple chairs down scrolling through his phone. He looked up when her phone buzzed again on the table. Glancing down he saw who was calling and also noticed the annoyed look on Maren's face. "For fuck sakes." She said under her breath just about ready to lose it. 

"Give me your phone?" Q finally said. 

"Huh?" She asked. 

"Come on, hand it over." He said putting his hand out. 

"What are you gonna say?" She asked but it was too late he had already answered the call. 

"Hey asshole, enough stop calling." Q said into the phone. "Get a fucking clue, she doesn't wanna talk to you anymore." 

Maren watched as he was quiet listening to whatever Jason was saying on the other line. She then saw Q's eyes widen in anger, "Let me tell you something, you keep bothering her, I will find you and shove my hand so far down your throat I'll pull your esophagus outta your fucking nose! LOSE THIS NUMBER!" He said through gritted teeth. 

He slid the phone back across the tablecloth to Maren. "He calls you again, I wanna know about it." 

"You didn't have to do that...but thanks." She said with a small smile. 

"Anytime." He replied getting off his chair and giving her a wink before walking off to find the other guys.   
_____________________________  
Saturday had finally arrived. Maren just got back from her hair and nail appointment. She had picked out just a basic black cocktail dress, her go to for events. Bessy would be going with Joe to the event so she as happy she had someone to hang out with tonight. 

She had a couple more hours before she had to start getting ready so she made a bite to eat and settled into some lousy guilty pleasure reality television. About 20 minutes into her show she was surprised by her door buzzer. "Hello?" She called into the speaker that connected to downstairs. 

"Good afternoon Ma'am, delivery for Maren Mulligan." A man spoke. 

"Oh umm...okay? I'll buzz you up." Maren said hitting the button to open the downstairs door. She was very confused not remembering ordering anything. 

A courier dressed very nicely in an all black suit was at her door shortly afterwards holding a zipped up dress bag. "Here you are, Ma'am." He said handing the bag over to her. 

She accepted and reached into her purse nearby to give him a tip. "What the hell is this?" She asked herself as she walked into her bedroom. 

Maren laid the dress bag out on her bed and unzipped it. "No way." She said out loud picking it up. "He fucking didn't!" She exclaimed. 

This dress was the single most gorgeous thing she had ever seen and she actually had it in her hands right now. As she stared it, running her fingers over the soft fabric she thought back to that night. Q, the guy that didn't believe in romance, actually remembered the exact dress she had been looking at in the window. 

That boutique was very expensive and she didn't even wanna know how much this cost. After everything that happened between them since that night, and he still did something like this. Maren knew she was so wrong about this man; deep down inside Brian Quinn was the sweetest most romantic man that she could imagine. 

Quickly taking off her yoga pants and sweatshirt she stepped into the dress and zipped it up the side. It fit like an absolute glove. The neckline dipped down low and the slit that ran up her left leg was high and very sexy. However the long evening gown look to it still made it classy enough for this black tie event tonight. She carefully applied her makeup, not wanting to get anything on this gorgeous dress. 

Because it was such a formal event she did her makeup a little heavier than she normally would have any other time. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest just thinking of seeing Brian all dressed up tonight in a tux. She knew he was busy working right now and then most likely running home to get ready but she still sent him a text anyways:

 

You're absolutely insane! This dress is beautiful, thank you so much. Can't wait to see you later.


	17. At Least We Were Electrifyed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co Written By Hopedanglesonastring

Maren took one last look in the mirror before heading downstairs to the waiting car TruTv sent over. The dress was absolutely gorgeous and for the first time in a long time, she felt beautiful. It wasn't just the dress. It was also Brian. The thought of him made her blush, and her palms sweaty. 

Grabbing her clutch she made her way into the kitchen and opened up the cupboard above her stove that held her liquor. Patron was her vice and she needed something to relax, so she took just a swig. Who would have thought, Brian Quinn would make her feel beautiful again. She chuckled to herself as she leaned against her kitchen counter. Putting the bottle away, she fixed her lipstick in the mirror, grabbed her clutch and headed downstairs. 

"Let's do this," she said under her breath, nervous for what the night ahead had in store.  
___________________________________________

 

"Hi! The guys are taking pics here on the red carpet press area. I'm up here now with Joe. Want to meet me up front in the press area?"

Bessy responded to Maren's text asking where she was. Maren was almost at this e hotel, but wasn't sure where to go. She really wanted to avoid the press /red carpet area. Even though it had been about a month since the pictures were published, she was still somewhat nervous about a reporter asking her a question and the last thing she wanted was this night ruined. 

"Actually I'm going to avoid the press area. I'll text you when I'm inside" Maren replied.

Maren directed the driver to drop her off at the employee entrence. This was customary for a lot of celebrities in the industry and Kelsey had arranged that as an option for tonight for anyone from TruTv.

When the driver opened the door, Maren could feel some employees stop what they are doing and turn in her direction. She felt like Cinderella. Blushing she took the elevator up to the main ballroom. She couldn't believe how absolutely nervous she was to see Brian. Smiling at the thought of his name, she quickly checked the mirror to make sure her hair and makeup looked good.

Once the doors opened, the music of a full orchestra overtook her senses. Looking around at the ballroom, she was astonished. The theme was "Under the Stars" and the entire ballroom was decorated with beautiful twinkling lights. The ceiling was tented to look like the night sky. It transported her right back to the night with Brian at the top of the apartment building. It was magically enchanting. "Wow" was all she was able to say breathlessly. 

After she was done admiring the beauty of the room, she looked around to see if she could notice anyone, when she spotted Cha.

"Wow Momma. I want to hug you but I'm afraid I'd wrinkle you! Maren, you look beautiful" she said grabbing her hand and standing back to admire her. Maren blushed and Cha could tell she had something to tell.  
Maren went into for a hug and whispered in her ear."  
Brian sent over this dress for me".

Cha's face bust out in a smile and her eyebrows hit the ceiling, "Whhaaa?! Babygirl...   
Maren nodded, "I know, I plan on thanking him tonight," Maren said and winked.   
Cha smiled and nodded. "Atta girl. Our table is over here." She led Maren to a table where Casey and a few other TruTv cast members were seated.  
"Maren, you look lovely as always," Casey said pulling out a chair for her to sit.

Maren smiled, "As do you Casey, thanks. I'm actually gonna walk around for a bit. I'll see you guys in a little while." 

Maren walked around the rest of the ballroom. Secretly she was hoping to bump into Brian, but also she wanted as many people as possible to see this amazing dress. There was a silent auction set up and she peruses the items that were up for auction, bidding on a few but was especially excited to see Hamilton tickets up for grabs. She had been wanting to see that show forever. Leaving the silent auction area, she headed towards the bar to get a drink and texted Bessy.

"Hi! I'm by the bar," Maren texted. A few moments later Bessy showed up with a water in her hand. Maren sipped on a martini.

"Maren. My god." Bessy gasped as she looked Maren up and down and then went in for a hug. "Gorgeous doesn't even begin to describe how you look." 

Maren smiled, her cheeks were hurting from smiling so much tonight. "Isn't it amazing?" She said looking down at the dress. Maren looked up at Bessy and raised an eyebrow. "Brian got it for me" she said sheepishly.

"SHUT UP" Bessy exclaimed a little too loudly, turning beads from the fellow patrons at the bar. Both ladies giggled and walked a little ways away.

Maren nodded, "Yep, it's a long story, but one night I saw it in a window of this boutique.. and it showed up at my door today." 

Bessy squealed and tapped Maren's shoulder with her evening clutch. "Maren.. I don't even know what to say, I mean... this is big. What are you going to do?!" Bessy asked. Maren knew what she meant. Bessy was definitely privy to her and Brian's history. Many were. It was no secret to anyone that knew them that they didn't get along. But everyone knew and was basically waiting for the day their true feelings were revealed. It appeared that time had arrived.

Maren shrugged, "I mean.. I've never been so nervous and excited and scared and anxious and happy at the same time Bessy. I just.. " she trailed off looking around, "I just can't wait to see him tonight. That's all." Maren was beaming.

Bessy leaned in to hug her friend, so very happy for her. "He looks great. I hope tonight is everything you've wanted" Bessy said squeezing her tight.

Just as the girls were done embracing Kelsey walked by. "Maren!! Wow. Wow. Wow." was all she could say. Maren was blushing so much at this point. She wasn't used to people making a fuss over her.

"You like?" Maren said, doing a little twirl.   
Kelsey nodded. "Stunning. So, it appears everyone has arrived, the red carpet has slowed down, so we will be beginning soon. You guys should go grab your seats at the table." Maren and Bessy nodded and headed back inside the ballroom.

_____________________________________________

"Hello hello, thank you all for being here tonight," Joes voice boomed from the stage once the guys were introduced and the clapping died down.   
"We are honored to be a part of this fantastic evening and to be working with the wonderful charity "Cause for a Cure" which benefits childrens cancer research," Murray said next, but Maren wasn't listening. She wasn't eating either. What she was doing, was watching Brian intently. He looked amazing. He was wearing a dark tuxedo with Navy blue accents. His hair was short and styled neatly to the side, and his beard appeared to have been styled and shortened as well. She knew she was blushing and she could tell Bessy was looking at her.

"Oh girl you're smitten," Bessy whispered to her leaning over. 

"Shh, I am not." Maren shook her head looking at Bessy,

"Ok. Sure. Right." Bessy laughed but Cha chimed in. 

"You got it bad baby girl." she said. Maren shrugged and tried to hid her now red face behind her hand.

Looking back up towards the stage, they made eye contact. Maren's heart stopped. He smiled. So did she. He subtlety nodded towards the hallway and she nodded. 

The guys had finished opening up the nights festivities and the founders of the charity were now speaking. Maren went to get up, but Kelsey had appeared at the table now looking slightly worried.

"Maren, can you come with me a sec," Kelsey said leaning down next to Maren's seat.

Once they both made it in to the Hallway, Kelsey spoke, "Listen, don't freak out. But Jason is here." There was no way around sugarcoating it.

"What?!" Maren said stunned. "How??! Wasn't he on the list??" Maren said wondering how this could possibly happen.

"No," Kelsey said just as surprised as Maren. "He must be someone's plus one! Listen, I will have him removed once I see him ok, if you see him first, text me and let me know. Don't let this ruin your night. Go see Bri," Kelsey winked. "You ok?" She asked Maren.

Maren nodded. "Yeah, ok, thanks Kelsey." Kelsey headed back inside. At this point it appeared the presentation part was over and everyone began mingling. Maren headed towards the bar to get a drink. She was slightly on edge now realizing that Jason was somewhere here and it wasn't cause he wanted to donate to the cause.

"Martini please," Maren said towards the bartender. Just then she felt a hand on her elbow.

"Well, well.. look who cleans up nicely for their boss," his voice whispered in her ear. She froze. "Come with me." He said pulling her away.

She looked around hoping to see anyone she noticed and that's when she saw Brian speaking to someone. Her head spun, "Is that, Hailee?!!" She thought to herself. She needed Brian to look up so bad, but he didn't. 

Maren's stomach was in knots and her breathing started to become frequent. She repeated to herself to take deep breathes and relax. Last thing she needed was to have a massive panic attack at this gorgeous event.

Jason cornered her against the wall away from the crowd. "Listen Maren.."he started but Maren kept looking over his shoulder at Brian.

He was smiling and appeared to be enjoying his talk with Hailee and an older gentleman. "Look up, please Brian, look up at me."

Jason's voice snapped Maren back to the current situation in front of her, "I WILL go to the press with information about you," Jason threatened.

Maren rolled her eyes, "And tell them WHAT?! Exactly?!" Maren wasn't about to let this prick ruin her night.

"I'm sure Mr. Quinn's fans would love to hear all about her kinky secrets and the pictures I have." Jason smiled knowing he had her on pins and needles.

"Fuck you Jason. Asshole," Maren said pushing her way out from under him. She looked in Brian's direction and he finally saw her but she couldn't talk to him right now. Not like this.

On the verge of tears, Maren headed towards the nearest fire exit and ran down the stairs. She appeared on a different floor and headed towards the employee entrance.  
Frantically pushing, the button for the elevator she was relieved when the door opened and no one was inside. "Thank god" she said out loud letting out a deep breath. 

She reached for her phone and texted Kelsey.

"He's by the bar. Get him out. He threatened me. I'm outside the employee entrance to get some air. Btw, what the fuck is Hailee doing here" she said sending the text.

 

Looking in the mirror of the elevator she tried desperately to fix her makeup. A few tears had escaped her eyes but she took deep breaths and tried her best to relax. The excitement and happiness she felt the entire evening divulged into absolute fear. Jason wouldn't? Would he? And why did Brian invite Hailee? Did she mis-read this whole thing?! She kept thinking. 

She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. The elevator came to a stop . She stood up and pretended to appear together. The doors opened and her heart melted when Brian was standing on the other side.

Immediately he walked in, cupped her face in his hand and kissed her more passionately than anyone ever had in her entire life.


	18. Im Spilling Wine in the Bathtub

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co-written with Hopedanglesonastring

"Shouldn't you be back on stage?" Maren asked between kisses. 

"Shut up." Brian interrupted her questioning as he continued assaulting her mouth. Right now the last thing on his mind was this charity event. He just had to keep kissing her, it was the only thing that had been on his mind all day. "Sorry I never answered your text earlier, it was kind of a crazy day." He apologized then immediately attacked her mouth again.

"It's okay I just wanted to thank you for the dress." She smiled against his lips. 

"It looks beautiful on you, I haven't been able to stop staring at you all night." He responded. "Speaking of which..." he pulls away suddenly, "What's your ex doing here?" He asked. 

"I have no clue. He just showed up randomly." Maren answered but in her head all she wanted was to kiss this man some more. 

"Fucking guy doesn't get a god damn hint." Brian mumbled under his breath.

"What was Hailee doing here?" Maren asked. 

"Her dad knows people and brought her along tonight. That's the guy I was talking to. He's still pushing for her to get into acting." He said rolling his eyes. "Wait a minute...you didn't think I came with her did you?"

"No." She answered quickly then looked away embarrassed, "Maybe...yeah." 

Brian shook his head letting out a soft laugh, "You're insane, why would I ever possibly do that with you looking like you do." He then began kissing her neck. It was at the point Maren just decided to stop thinking. The hell with Hailee, the hell with Jason; all she cared about for the remainder of this elevator ride was having this man's mouth on her. 

"Mmm... Brian you're so good at that." She giggled as goosebumps traveled up and down her body. His only response was an intense growl, he was on a mission. Next time that asshole, Jason, saw her he would see a clear mark on her neck that Brian was there. 

Suddenly the two were knocked backwards and startled by a loud thump. The lights flickered a few times and then completely went out. The only source of light was the dim emergency light in the far corner. "Did we just stop?!" Maren exclaimed. 

Brian's first reaction was to hit the emergency call button. It lit up signaling the call was placed. Maren grabbed her purse on the floor and took out her phone. "No service!" She said in a panicked voice. 

"It's okay Mar, the alarm button will tell someone we're stuck." He reassured her but it wasn't working that well. She slid down sitting on the carpet taking short deep breaths. 

"Mar, you're not cloister-phobic are you?" Brian asked noticing she seemed worked up. 

"Kinda." She whined, her eyes starting to water a bit. 

Brian sighed, "Of course you are." He mumbled under his breath taking a seat next to her. "Hey it's gonna be okay. We're perfectly safe, just a little stuck but I'm sure the maintenance team already knows and is working on getting us out. I got called to hundreds of these kinda things when I was with the fire department." He placed his hand on her leg giving it a tight squeeze. 

It was then that something dawned on Maren, "Wait a minute!" She shouted, "Any chance this could be a punishment from the guys. You've done secret ones before, maybe their just fucking with you." 

"As much as I'd like to calm your nerves, I doubt it." He answered. 

"Why not?" She asked.

"Well for starters I'm not up for a punishment. Haven't lost in awhile." He smiled brightly. Truth was he was on a pretty good winning streak lately. "And second of all, we already put Sal in an elevator, we don't repeat punishments." 

"So we're really stuck?" She asked. 

"Afraid so." He said checking his watch. It was almost 8:30, he was due up on stage again in the next 20 minutes, looks like that wasn't happening. He stretched out his legs trying to get as comfortable as possible. Truthfully he didn't know how long they would be trapped in here. Glancing over to the woman next to him he smiled, "You really do look beautiful tonight. I mean you look beautiful everyday but tonight..."

"Thanks Quinn." She smiled, "I cant believe you remembered this dress." 

"I remember more than you think." He winked. 

For whatever reason this man had a very calming effect on her right now. If she was trapped either by herself or with anyone she knew she wouldn't be smiling right now. She ran her hand up and down his tux jacket. "This tux looks amazing on you. And your beard." She smiled running her hand over his face. 

"I clean up alright." He shrugged. 

"More than alright." She said kissing his cheek softly. 

"Had someone to impress tonight so had to look good." He said in a serious tone. 

"Who?" She asked. 

"You." He answered still being very serious. 

"Me?!" She said taken aback. "You don't have to impress me Brian...I'm already impressed." She laid her head on his shoulder and leaned into his body. 

"Doing okay?" He asked noticing her anxiety seemed to have lowered. 

"Better." She responded breathing in his scent. The feel of him supporting her weight was comforting and not something she ever had before. They were sitting not speaking for several minutes, Brian was using his finger to rub small relaxing circles on Maren's leg. 

"What you thinking about?" She finally asked breaking the silence. 

"Nothing." He answered. 

"Don't do that." She laughed, "That's such a guy answer. You're obviously thinking about something." 

He glanced down at her out of the corner of his eye, "You really wanna know." He smirked. When she nodded yes he let out a small chuckle, "It's just funny, I've never met anyone that makes me so frustrated but at the same time I wanna fuck 20 different ways." 

He then let out a huge uncontainable laugh when he saw how red she got, "You asked." 

Maren continued to blush and laugh along with the sudden confession, that was until it wasn't funny anymore. The two exchanged a look and it was obvious they had crossed a line that they would never come back from. Maren began kissing Brian's lips rather aggressively. "I want you." He managed to say between her attack on his lips. 

Maren decided for once to be brave and when she reached down to grab hold of Brian through his pants she nearly gasped. The man was already hard and just by the feel of it, was impressively sized. "Jesus." She muttered under her breath. 

"You want this baby?" He growled against her skin pushing her hand flat against his pants. 

"Yes." She let out in a breathy voice. "God fucking yes." Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine this very moment but now that it was right in front of her, Maren was more than ready.

Brian got to his feet pulling Maren up with him. The look of want and need in their eyes was clear. Enough was enough, there was absolutely no interruptions and even though this was far from the most romantic setting, Maren had never wanted anything more. 

"Now I wanna know what you're thinking." Brian whispered against her cheek then bit down. Besides a soft little nibble here and there, Maren had never been bit in her life and it was the sexiest thing she could think of. "I said I wanna know what you're thinking." Brian repeated now grabbed her ass. 

Maren tried to swallow, her mouth sudden went completely dry. "Just thinking how crazy this is." She answered with a shy smile. 

"Something tells me, it can get a lot crazier." He growled. 

"How's that?" She asked batting her eyes up at him. 

"Like this." He answered retreating to his knees in front of her. He lifted her dress up ducking underneath. Not that it would have mattered but he was pretty pleased when he saw she wasn't wearing any nylons. Again, he would have just ripped them off but this saved him a step. Maren tripped back against the wall as Brian pulled her thong down. "Better hold on." He chuckled. 

Maren grabbed hold of the bar behind her and moments later felt Brian's warm tongue against her opening. She tried adjusting positions quickly since she was still standing but Brian wasn't having it and pushed her back against the wall this time a little rougher. "Stay still." She heard him mutter. Next thing she knew, her body was being devoured by this man. "Ah shit oh my god!" She cried out. 

Brian smiled against her, if her screams weren't giving him a clue, the wetter she was getting every second certainly was. Her taste was something he couldn't get enough of. She was so sweet and felt so tight. He couldn't wait to get inside her but first to quench his thirst. "Hold this up." He said in a heavy breath referring to the bottom of her dress. 

Maren followed directions and now that Brian had use of his hands he could really pleasure her. "Perfect." He said softly smiling against her body. Maren felt her whole body go hot knowing that this man was actually admiring her. It was the first time she ever felt like this. Truth was the other men she had been with in her life never looked at her or took care of her like this. Their only concerns were their own pleasure and it was evident Brian's mind was on making her feel good first. 

"Please more." She begged pushing his head against her wetness. Something was beginning to come over her, she was no longer thinking; just feeling and enjoying every minute of it. 

Brian lifted back to look up her with a huge smile on his face. He could tell she was finally letting herself go for him. "Now you're getting it." He laughed commenting on her getting a little rough. "But just relax a bit sweetheart. Let me do the work. I'm gonna make you feel so good." 

Brian then got back to work, licking her pussy and sliding his fingers in and out at a rapid pace. "Fuck Brian!" She shouted throwing her head back. Maren then felt something very strange, something in all her adult life she never felt before, "Brian stop! Oh my god, no please!" She wiggled from side to side trying to get out of his grasp.

Brian knew exactly why she wanted him to stop and there was no way, not when she was this close. He kept licking and sucking at her with all his might until he felt her right on the edge; he had to watch her cum so while still working his fingers inside her he watched as her face got flushed and she released all over his hand. "Holy shit! Yes Brian, yes!" She yelled raking her fingers through his hair as she came fiercely. 

Just when he thought she couldn't get anymore beautiful, he was wrong. Seeing her at her most intimate moment was so sexy, what made it even better was that it was all because of him. 

"You are so fucking wet baby." He whispered into her center as he softly licked her up and down. "Umm...so tasty too." 

Maren was still coming back down from her high, "What the hell was that?!" She laughed bending her head back again, "Holy fuck, that was amazing. I've never felt that good in my life." 

Brian could tell she wasn't just saying it. Her body had never actually experienced that before. He got back to his feet, "You never had an orgasm before?!" He asked shocked. 

"I mean...I thought I had." She answered shyly now thinking he was gonna make fun of her. "Guess I didn't know until I had a real one. You must think I'm pretty pathetic." 

"Are you kidding?! Oh baby, the things I'm gonna do to your pussy." He whispered coming in for a wet hot kiss. "I want you on my cock...now!" 

He then unbuttoned his dress pants pulling them down. Poking his hard cock out of the opening in his boxers he took a seat in the corner of the elevator. "Come ride me baby." He commanded stroking himself as he watched her.

Maren hovered over him and slowly sunk herself onto his waiting cock. "Oh my god, Brian you feel so good." She moaned. 

"You feel amazing Maren." Brian replied. "Just as tight as I'd hope. Get those tits out for me." He ordered. "I want them in my mouth." 

Maren pulled at the top of the dress so her bra was exposed. She then slid her bra down low so her bare breasts were up against his face. "These are perfect." He complimented as he admired them. 

"Play with them Brian." She begged. "Please baby." 

This look she was giving him, he immediately knew was going to be dangerous. Between the brightness to her eyes and her pouting lips, it was then that he knew this was a look that would make him do anything she wanted him to. He immediately took her right in his mouth flicking it repeatedly with his tongue and biting on her nipple. His hand was busy occupying the left one so it didn't feel left out. "You are so fucking hot Maren." He said against her chest. "Ride me baby, please I need to feel that tight perfect pussy of yours." 

Maren tightened her muscles even harder around him and bounced repeatedly up and down on him. The feeling of his size was overwhelming but she was keeping it together because she knew she was making him feel good. He hit the right spot again and she felt herself come undone again. This one wasn't as intense as the first but it was just as amazing. Brian felt her get even wetter and knew she had exploded again. "Fuck baby, what's right cum on my cock. God you're so hot." He moaned as he ran his hands down her back to cup her ass. 

Maren rocked back and forth causing Brian to jolt with pleasure, "Fuck Maren, you gotta hop off. I'm gonna cum. Fuck baby." Brian said through closed eyes. Maren regrettably rolled off and just in time because she watched as Brian yelled her name one more time and then spilled hot cum from his cock. 

They didn't speak for several minutes. Things were now different between the two of them and there was no going back. The funny thing was, neither of them wanted things to go back. They just shared something special and something sexy. 

"Hello?! Anyone in there?!" A voice came through the door. 

"Hello! Yes! We're here!" Brian yelled back still not breaking eye contact with Maren. 

"I'm the building manager, my crew is working on getting the lift door open." The voice called again. "Shouldn't be long." 

They heard a series of bangs and then finally the door popped open. "Freedom!" Maren smiled. 

"So sorry about this folks. Mr. Quinn, my deepest apologies." The building manager said noticing Brian right away. 

"It's okay, we found ways to keep busy." Brian said with a straight face but gave Maren a subtle wink causing her to turn bright red instantly. 

"We really should get you back to the event. I'm sure people are going crazy looking for you." Maren said trying to control her embarrassment. Now that their phones were regaining service, the two were getting notification after notification of incoming texts from so many different people. 

"Again my deepest apologies to the both of you." The building manager said. 

Maren and Brian followed the way back to the event opting for the couple flights of stairs this time. Just before rounding the corner to the ballroom, Brian pulled her back giving her a soft kiss. Maren smiled into it. She had no clue what was gonna happen now that they had just hooked up but she was excited to find out. 

"You should go fix your hair." Brian teased slapping her ass feeling the sting on his hand. 

"Such an asshole." She replied but smiled devilishly at him before finding a ladies room to duck into before anyone saw her.


	19. You Kiss My Face And We’re Both Drunk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co written with Hopedanglesonastring

"Excuse me miss, are you Maren Mulligan?" a gentleman's voice startled her as she exited  the ladies room with her head buried in her phone.

"I am, and you are..?" She questioned as she tried to size up the man. She really needed to get back to the ballroom, everyone was wondering where she was, and this stranger was making her nervous.

"My name is Tom, I write for the NY POST," he said taking out a card and holding it out in her direction.

The high Maren was feeling 5 minutes ago, disappeared in an instant, replaced with fear. She immediately turned to walk away.

"So I'm guessing you don't have any comment about Brian Quinn," the reporter questioned snidely as she continued to put further distance between them. The reporter countered smugly, "Okay then, do you know a Jason Murdock?"

Maren froze in place. Immediately she tensed up but took a deep breath. "Motherfucker"  she muttered to herself under her breath, shaking her head. She turned on her heels and walked back towards the reporter.

"I'm sorry, Tom.. I didn't catch your last name?" Maren said with a sweet smile on her face. He again tried handing her his business card. 

"Mulvaney," he said with a smile. Maren took the card from his hard, narrowed her eyes and moved closer to him. 

"Was there no Real Housewives or Kardashian's drama going going on in the city this evening that you had to show up to a CHARITY event for CHILDREN WITH CANCER to snoop around looking for a story that doesn't exist?" Maren was thoroughly annoyed, but decided to kill him with kindness

Tom smiled, put his hands in his pockets, chuckled a little and looked back up at Maren, "Miss Mulligan, I have sources who—"

"No, what you have is a disgruntled, jealous ex boyfriend spreading lies, and a few pictures of coworkers having dinner. You also have no dignity or self respect showing up, like I said at at a CHARITY EVENT trying to dig around for more "salacious" gossip for your readers. You want a comment from me? Here's one: Get a real job. Have a good night Tom!"  

So, it turns out killing him with kindness flew out the window once Maren heard the word "sources".  She walked back in to the ballroom and noticed her left hand was shaking. "Shit" she said under her breath. A drink was needed, so she made her way towards the bar. 

Jason has already talked to a reporter. "Fuck" she was screaming in her head. He thought she was calling his bluff.  The bartender handed her a martini and she drank it quickly, but jumped and spilled some when she felt someone grab at her arm.

"What happened?!? The elevator got stuck?! You were stuck with Brian?!" Kelsey asked looking  stressed. She ordered a drink from the bar and switched off her mic pack and took out her earpiece. The night was almost over and Kelsey was thankful for that. The orchestra was playing and people were dancing. 

"Yes, elevator got stuck... Oh and did you know there is a NY Post reporter here?," Maren was annoyed and anxious. Not a good combination.

Kelsey looked suspiciously at her friend. "Yes there were several media passes given out to cover the event this evening," Kelsey replied sipping her drink, not seeing the big deal.

Maren was getting more annoyed by the second, "So you thought it was smart to extend one to The NY Post, who ran the article about Brian and I?!" 

Kelsey shook her head slightly and looked up at her friend, "Maren, you have to understand, I couldn't exclude the second biggest paper in the city because of an article they ran insinuating that Brian was no longer a bachelor. I'm the Public Relations Director  for TruTV. I have to act in the best interest of the network that I work for, " Kelsey explained slightly annoyed at Maren because she knows this.

But Maren had had it. Between the reporter and Jason, she was quickly becoming done with this night. She turned back towards the bartender. "Shot of Patron please," Maren said laying money down on the bar.

"Maren what the hell is the matter?" Kelsey put her hand on her friends shoulder to turn her around to face her but Maren shrugged it off. 

Maren pounded the shot and turned towards Kelsey.   
"Well Kels, first my ex boyfriend shows up and threatens me that he'll leak details and pictures about me to the press, then TOM MULVANEY (she makes a funny face mocking the guys voice and demeanor) asks me if I have a statement regarding Brian Quinn. I walk away .. then he asks if I know Jason Murdock and proceeded to inform me about his sources that..." Maren immediately stopped talking when she saw them. Out of the corner of her eye, right past Kelsey's left ear she saw them. Brian. Hailee. Dancing on the dance floor. Kelsey followed her gaze towards where she was looking.

"Oh for Fucks Sake." Maren said and grabbed her clutch. Heading for the door, Kelsey was right behind her hot on her heels.

"Maren, relax," Kelsey said reaching her arm out to rub Maren's back. 

She wiggled away, "Don't touch me!" Maren snapped at Kelsey. The two girls looked at each other for a second. Maren's eyes glanced back over to Brian and Hailee on the dance floor. He didn't look up. He just looked at Hailee, smiled and laughed at what she said. 

"So much for my magical night," Maren groaned and headed out the door of the ballroom, hoping to not run into another human being as she headed toward the employee entrance of the hotel to her waiting car.

_____________________________________________

 

"Brian, I miss this," Hailee whined in a baby voice as she rested her head against Brian's shoulder.   Very few things aggravated him more, than this stupid voice Hailee would do.

Rolling his eyes, he replied, "Really? Pretty sure last time I saw you a lamp was being hurled in my direction." He smiled and laughed awkwardly.  
Hailee lifted her head off his shoulder and looked in his eyes. She laughed, "Oh don't be silly, what's a little disagreement between lovers." She was making those 'fuck me' eyes that always made it hard for Brian to resist her. But not tonight. Tonight, the only woman who had any power over him was Maren.

Brian smiled and laughed sarcastically at her use of the word "lovers." He wanted to tell Hailee there would be no more sex between the two of them. That the only reason he was even dancing with her was because her father had deep pockets and his donation could go a long way to help the charity tonight. But he knew this wasn't the time or the place, and that she would definetly make a scene.

Hailee however wasn't stupid. She noticed him looking around the room, his attention elsewhere. She didn't like it.  Putting her hand on his cheek, she turned his head towards her. "So, it is true.. isn't it?!" Hailee asked with disdain.

Brian looked at her confused, "What are you talking  about??"  

Hailee rolled her eyes and started becoming annoyed. "Oh please Brian. Maren. You're looking for her. It's true isn't it's  The two of you?"  

Thankfully the song was coming to an end and everyone started clapping. Brian leaned down and kissed her cheek. "I was looking for our PR director Hailee. To see where I am supposed to be next, we are the hosts of the evening. Don't believe everything you read on gossip sites." 

Thankful he just dodged that bulletin with Hailee, he noticed Kelsey standing by the door with Murr and made his way over to them. The night was ending and all that was left was one more appearance on stage with the rest of the guys to say thank you and goodnight.  

"Hi. Have either of you seen Maren?" Brian asked. Murr shook his head no, but was now being  pulled away by someone asking for a picture.

Kelsey didn't answer, instead she just sipped her martini, never taking her eyes off Brian. 

"Kelsey.. Where's Maren?" he asked again becoming impatient.

"She left Brian," Kelsey responded and began to walk away. 

"Wait... no.. Kelsey, what's going on?! Brian moved quickly catching up with Kelsey who was headed towards the back.

Kelsey shrugged, "I don't know Brian. But she left. Now please be back on stage to end the evening in 5 minutes, ok?" Kelsey's tone informed Brian the conversation was over. 

He grabbed his cell phone and shot off a text to Maren.

"Are you ok?? Why did you leave?!"

____________________________________________

The dress was far too pretty to be touching the floor of her kitchen, but that's where it was. Still on Maren, who was sitting on the floor of her kitchen, drinking Patron through a straw.  For the last hour and a half, she sat there, scrolling through her tablet, reading every single comment that was posted about her since that article came out almost 2 months ago. Instagram, Twitter, Reddit. She looked at it all. She ping ponged back and forth between crying and being so angry she threw her shoes across the room. She ignored the texts and ringing of her phone. She didn't care right now. Remember that scene in Cinderella, where the stepsisters rip apart the dress she made for the ball? Yeah. That's how Maren felt.  She thought she was Cinderella tonight. Instead, she was ripped apart by Jason and a reporter. Her Prince Charming? Probably banging Hailee. She snickered to herself, annoyed at even the thought, when her doorbell rang.

It took her a minute though, cause she was pretty drunk at this point and wasn't sure if it as just her mind playing tricks on her. Nope, it wasn't she decided when someone now started banging on the door.  In the least graceful way possible, she got to her feet and stumbled to the front door. She looked in the mirror. "Train wreck. Nice" she said to herself and winked. 

Looking through the peep hole, she didn't expect to see his face. She figured it was Cha or Kelsey.

She flung open the door.

"Thank god you're ok. You weren't answering your phone," he said immediately as he began to take a step inside then stopped and took a look at her. 

"Have you been crying?" he reached his hands up and cupped her face, "Hey.. Maren, did something happen?"

She shook her head and rolled her eyes, "Brian I'm great!" she exclaimed with a ton of snark, annoyance and a smile! She turned to walk back towards the kitchen. He walked inside her apartment shutting her door.  

He raised an eyebrow and sat downagainst the back of her couch as she stumbled back in his direction with the bottle of Patron in her hand.

"Ya know.. its been an GREAT night," she slurred, waving her one arm in the air.  

He couldn't help but be slightly amused. He hadn't ever seen a completely wasted Maren before, and he had to admit it was kinda adorable. He crossed his arms and waited for more. 

"Ya know.. I mean how often does a girl get to put on a gorgeous gown, delivered by a guy in a suit! Brian the guy had a suit on to DELIVER THE DRESS! I mean.. fancy! Anyway," she continued dramatically', "THEN gets threatened by her ex boyfriend, fuck her adorable hot boss in an elevator, then run into a reporter from the NY Post, oh yeah.. the SAME PAPER (she stressed this dramatically) that published our love story!! Yep! Them! Oh and he has SOURCES! Sources! And Jason's talked to them already! Cool right! Oh and the best part," Maren was standing in front of Brian at this point. 

She poked his chest with her finger as she cradled the Patron bottle in her other hand. " The best part, was watching you smile and laugh as you danced with Hailee. Oh no wait wait, the best part is being called fat by all these online fangirls of yours.  Man... Bri! It has been a NIGHT!" she giggled as she fell backwards over the back of her sofa, now laying on it.

Brian hung his head in his hands and rubbed his temples.  He smiled for a moment to himself because it was actually quite adorable, even though he knew he should. He then sighed and leaned over to take the bottle away from her. She let it go willingly. "Maren" he began, his gorgeous brown eyes looking directly into hers. "I danced with Hailee in the hopes her father would make a donation tonight, I thought we went over this earlier." he explained quietly.

She shrugged sheepishly. "It's just a lot to process Brian. The whole night was." She said embarrassed that tears started to build up in her eyes. 

He quietly nodded and pulled her close, "Come here" he whispered as she leaned against his body. He rubbed her back and she instantly relaxed against him.  They sat in silence for a few moments until the sound of his voice laughed a little and said "Hey so, tell me more about this hot, adorable boss of yours?! You fucked him in the elevator?!  Maren! Such a naughty girl" he laughed and started to tickle her.

She giggled and started squirming around. "Hmm! He is something alright, want me to show you some of his tricks??"


	20. Everyone Thinks That They Know Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co written with Hopedanglesonastring

"So now what?" Maren asked snuggled up next to Brian bringing her leg over his. 

Brian cocked an eyebrow and looked over at this woman in confusion. "Seriously? I just gave you everything I possibly have and the only thing you can say is 'now what'?!" After he came to her apartment and found her drunk off her ass, he led her to the bedroom and fucked her until they both screamed with release. He pulled out all his best tricks; poor guy was still trying to catch his breath. 

Maren looked at him mortified, "No!" She laughed, "That's not what I meant." She cranked her neck up to capture his lips, "I am more than satisfied with that, believe me." Brian smiled at the compliment then pulled her back onto his chest. Maren enjoyed the feel of his hand moving up and down her back and took a second to run her own hand over his chest. "What I meant was what do we do now that this is clearly gonna happen more and more?"

"Is it?" He asked in a serious tone catching her off guard. 

She immediately sat up and looked at him. Now so many things were running through her head. "Well...I mean...I thought so. But I guess if you don't want to I understand..it's just.." 

Brian couldn't torture her anymore and let out a huge laugh, "You're so fucking adorable when you get like this." 

"Get like what?" She asked now red with embarrassment. 

"All flustered. It's so easy to get you going." He answered then pulled her back in. Kissing the top of her head, he felt her relax again. "You need to stop overthinking things. Of course I want this to happen more and more. I wasn't kidding when I said I have feelings for you." 

"Yeah?" She said sitting up again and smiling. "Really?!" 

"Oh god you're not gonna get all cute and write my name all over your notebook are you?" He teased. 

"Shut up." She laughed pinching his side as she laid back down. Brian was up for being a little playful and rolled her on her back covering her body with his and tickling her until she was screaming with laughter. 

Once she begged for mercy he rolled off and laid back down stretching his arms up. Maren took a minute to study him, she couldn't remember a time she ever saw him look so content or relaxed. "So what did you mean?" 

"Huh?" She asked realizing she had spaced out for a minute. 

"You said now what? So what did you mean?" He repeated. 

"I obviously don't wanna make you uncomfortable or push for anything so I guess I was just curious where we go from here?" She asked nervously. Talking about this kind of thing was never easy but talking about it with Brian Quinn was even worse. 

"You act like I've never been in a relationship before, it's been awhile but I do know how they work Maren." He laughed. Looking over he still saw the uneasiness on her face so figured he should handle this a different way. "Look I know what I've said in the past and I get how that can make you hesitant to trust me but I meant what I said to you, I'm all in." He cupped her cheek softly and felt her relax instantly to his touch, "Let's take this slow and keep it to ourselves for a bit but as far as I'm concerned...I'm considering you my girlfriend and hope you won't be seeing anyone else because I sure as hell won't be." 

Maren literally felt like this wasn't real. The man that she battled with constantly for two straight years and always told her love was ridiculous was actually calling her his girlfriend. "Now I wanna know what's up with your ex. What's he sniffing around for?" Brian asked breaking her from her thoughts. 

Maren was quiet and tried her best to avoid eye contact. A great moment was suddenly ruined thanks to Jason. "Hey." Brian said pulling her chin to look at him, "I can't help if I don't know what's going on." He said softly. 

"I don't know exactly, all I know is he was talking to a reporter who in turn started questioning me. Reporter said he had sources who I can only assume is Jason." She said. 

"He wouldn't have anything interesting to say. I'm sure it's just meant to scare you, get you to slip up and confirm something about me." Brian said trying to reassure her. 

"Yeah I guess you're right." Maren sighed. Truth was she had a good idea what Jason shared with the reporter and unfortunately it was something that would humiliate her. For now she would have to deal with it on her own and pray Brian never found out.

"Is that outta the way now?" He asked. "Because right now I wanna know more about what you want?" 

"What I want?" She asked. 

"Yeah."! He smiled as he moved closer to her neck, "Because I'm sick of talking about other people, and I'm ready for round two if you are." He said then began sucking on her neck feeling her start to wiggle in excitement. 

Maren had a better idea, so far she had had sex with this man twice and both times he completely focused on her. Not that she was complaining but she also didn't wanna be greedy either. She sat up and pushed him away causing him to fall against the soft mattress. At first he gave her a confused look thinking that she wasn't interested but then started to get the hint when he noticed her slither down his body. "See here's the thing Quinn, you've been so worried about my needs that we have neglected yours." She said softly, a smile playing across her pink lips. 

"Trust me, my needs have been plenty satisfied." He said. Truth was Brian Quinn had always been a pleaser when it came to his partners. He fully enjoyed the art of oral sex on a woman and having them cum and scream uncontrollably was his biggest turn on. On the flip side he never objected to a good dick sucking either. 

"Just relax this time around." She whispered before taking him in her mouth. 

"Fucking shit." He mumbled to himself the second he felt himself enter her mouth. 

Maren encouraged him to pull her hair and got turned on when he pushed her head down further. The deeper he got in her throat the harder he became. At this point he was rock hard and pumping back and forth as fast as he could. 

Maren took a second to remove her mouth from him and slowly licked down curving her tongue around his balls and coming back up the other side. "Jesus Maren." He cried out, "What the fuck." 

"How's that feel baby?" She asked. 

"Feels fucking incredible." His eyes were shut now as he just let her do whatever it was she wanted. He could already tell sex with this woman was gonna be addictive and all he could do was buckle up and enjoy the ride.   
________________________________  
"Hey, it's me." Tom said when his editor picked up the phone. "You're never gonna believe what I got my hands on." He smiled as he tossed the disc in the air a couple times, he could taste a front page story with this one. 

"Video camera footage of Brian Quinn screwing his manager in an elevator." He laughed at his editor's reaction on the other end. "With the stuff we have already and now this, it's gonna be the biggest story this year."


	21. But They Know Nothing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co written with the wonderful Hopedanglesonastring as always :)

The sound of pans being rattled in her kitchen woke Maren from her sleep. It took her a second to realize last night was real. Her head was pounding, her body was sore and he currently wasn’t in her bed, but a smile spread across her lips as she awoke satisfied and happy for once in a long time.

Laying on the floor was Brian’s tuxedo button up shirt on the floor. Maren slipped it on and smiled again at the scent of the man she couldn’t believe she was falling for. 

Stepping into the kitchen she smiled at the site of Brian in his undershirt and tuxedo pants making pancakes. She couldn’t believe this was real. “Wow, and he cooks too,” she said hopping up on her kitchen counter.

Brian looked over at her. He was slightly startled as he didn’t hear her enter the kitchen. Looking her up and down, noticing she was wearing nothing but his Tuxedo shirt, and seeing her long legs next to him as she hopped up on the counter made him adjust himself slightly as he stood over the range. 

“Nice outfit,” he winked at her, moving his body in front of her and rubbing his hand up her leg, across her chest then clipping her face as he kissed it.

“Mmm..” Maren moaned into his kiss. “Pancakes huh. How Pretty Woman of you!” Maren mused as she smacked his butt when he went back to flipping pancakes.

Brian looked over at her, eyebrow raised. “Wasn’t she a prostitute?” 

“Well, I mean she was but, isn’t that what you’re used to dating anyway?!” Maren giggled as she jumped off the kitchen cabinet and grabbed some plates.

Brian swatted at her butt with the spatula. “Ha. Someone’s got jokes this morning, huh.”

Maren winked, proud of herself for getting her dig. “Did you go buy pancake stuff?”

Brian nodded his head, “Yeah, you have no food in this house. I ran down to the market on the corner.”

Maren’s heart grew when he said that. He could have just gone and gotten takeout, but instead he chose to make something. She was beginning to see she was very wrong about him.

Placing a plate of pancakes in front of her, he sat down across from her at her dining room table. She looked up at him and smiled. She never expected to be eating breakfast with this man, in her own apartment. 

“So I was thinking,” he said as he dug into his pancakes. “We have a few days off before we start filming again. And our next tour isn’t until next weekend. Why don’t we get away somewhere?”

Maren was twirling her fork. She had butterflies in her stomach at the sight of this man eating at her dining table. She hardly even heard what she said.

“What?” she said shaking her head bringing her back to reality. “Sorry say that again”

Brian looked up at her. “You ok? You haven’t touched your pancakes. I’m not trying to poison you, Maren.” he teased.

Maren smiled, “Yeah, just.. it’s very sweet that you went and got food to make, instead of just getting takeout. It’s crazy that you’re sitting at my dining room table, that’s all.” She shrugged. “It’s really nice,” she felt her face turning red.

Brian stood up, leaned over and kissed her lips. He understood what she meant. This wasn’t the place either of them thought they’d end up: with each other. 

When he sat back down, he repeated what he said. “We have some time off. Let’s go away somewhere.”

Maren was screaming “YES” in her head. Go away with this man and have amazing sex and stop overthinking everything. She thought to herself but of course, that’s not what she said. “I mean, can we do that?” she said out loud.

Brian put down his fork and knife and gave Maren his full attention. “What exactly are you afraid of?” Brian said with all seriousness.

Busted Maren thought. “You’re good” she said outloud.

“Come on Maren. I know you. Yes, we can do this. Yes, we do work together but we are adults.” He said when she interrupted.

“Well we weren’t when we had a food fight before a live show a few weeks ago” Maren point out before plopping pancakes in her mouth.

Brian smiled. “Your fault. Besides the point. We can do this, if you want of course. We just have to be on the same page. Which is why I’m suggesting we go away. Spend some time together away from everything.

Maren smiled and nodded, “Well where should we go then??”

Brian smiled and walked over to her still sitting at the table, he stood her up, then picked her up and lead her back to the bedroom, “Well right this moment, the only place I want to be is between your legs”

____________________________________________

It was Sunday afternoon. Kelsey didn’t have to be back in the office until Monday, but considering the huge event she pulled off last night, she wanted to check her emails and voicemails and see if there was anything pressing that needed her attention. 

The security desk downstairs handed her a manilla envelope when she came in. It was delivered earlier this morning they said, but when she got to her office and started looking at her emails and going through her voicemails she forgot all about it.

She scrolled online through the press coverage and was happy to see there was no mention of Maren or Brian or anything salacious or gossipy. Everything seemed to be positive. She spoke with the charity after the event last night and they were happy with how the evening went as well. 

Checking the list of auction winners, she smiled when she noticed Brian won the tickets to Hamilton. Kelsey knew he did it for Maren, who had been wanting to see it forever. Kelsey leaned over and grabbed her phone and tried calling Maren again. She had tried several times but hadn’t heard back. She figured Maren just needed some space.

After spending about 45 minutes in the office, Kelsey decided to head out and enjoy the rest of her day off before coming back in tomorrow. 

____________________________________________

Maren’s Uber was on route to the Delta terminal at JFK. She packed everything Brian suggested.. which was a bikini and not much else. She smiled to herself. It had been awhile since she threw caution to the wind and did something for herself. She was excited. Looking down at her phone, she shot off a text to Kelsey.

Hi. Heading out of town for a few days. I’m ok. Love you

She leaned back and then shot off an email to all of the Jokers informing them as well, making sure to email Brian also so nothing seemed out of sorts.

The Uber came to a stop and her driver helped her with her luggage. She walked inside and quickly located Brian in the Delta Sky Miles lounge where he texted her she would be. He was standing by the bar, looking gorgeous in a pair of Khaki’s, his red FDNY red track jacket and Yankees cap. She smiled to herself, and wanted to pinch herself to make sure it was real.

He smiled at her when he noticed she arrived and they kissed each other on the lips quickly, both nervous since they were out in public.

“So.. where are we off too?” Maren smiled excitedly.


	22. Flashback When You Met Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co written with Hopedanglesonastring

Brian handed her a glass of white wine leading her over to an empty couch. "My favorite place to get away to...Key West." He answered. 

"Really?!" Maren exclaimed. She grew up 40 miles outside of Jacksonville but besides the occasional trip to Disney World as a kid never really explored the state too much, except at one point in her life. When she was 21 her and a few friends went to Miami to celebrate. She fell in love with the loudness of the city and party scene and ended up crashing on a friend's couch for a month as she let loose and lived it up, however reality soon came knocking and she had to leave party Maren behind. That was the old Maren, one that she left in Florida a long time ago. 

She had never been to Key West though but always heard how beautiful and relaxing it was. "Ever been?" he asked. 

"Never." She responded taking a sip of wine. Once the taste hit her lips she immediately took another. Traveling with Brian meant no waiting in long check in lines or eating cheap crappy airport food. He didn't splurge on much but when it came to traveling, he did always prefer first class. A lounge cocktail waitress placed a cheese and cracker spread in front of them along with an assortment of almonds. Maren continued to sip her wine as she cuddled into Brian's side, his arm tightly around her. "I'm so excited." She said. 

Brian sipped on his beer and smiled then placed a sweet kiss to her temple. He was too. 

___________________________________________________________________________________

"I'm gonna hit the bathroom before we take off." He said to Maren as she settled into her seat. Brian took his phone out of his backpack before putting it in the overhead compartment. He tossed his phone on the seat, leaned over for a quick peck, then headed for the bathroom. 

Maren smiled as she watched him walk away. Never in her life did she picture Brian being so affectionate but was she wrong. In the very short time since this all started between them he was constantly stealing little kisses, holding her hand, or just pulling her into his embrace. For a second she just couldn't stop thinking about how perfect he was being. 

"First trip together?" a voice came from the row next to her. 

"I'm sorry?" Maren asked the older woman who was talking to her. 

"Is it your first trip with him?" the woman asked Maren pointing to Brian's empty seat. 

"Yeah, is it that obvious?" Maren asked trying to control her butterflies. 

"Kind of." The woman laughed softly. She gave Maren a warm smile, "Just relax and enjoy. I'm sure you are going to have a wonderful time. I've been with my husband for 43 years and still have the most special memories of our first vacation together." 

"I'm going to try." Maren smiled back. 

"He's quite handsome." The woman commented. 

"Certainly is." Maren agreed, "Such a smooth talker too." 

"They all are my dear, that's why us women can't help but fall for them." The older woman added before bidding farewell when her husband returned to his seat. 

Maren decided to take the woman's advice and just relax. When the stewardess walked by she ordered another white wine for herself and a Jameson for Brian. As she waited for Brian and the drinks to return a flashing light resting on Brian's seat caught her eye. He had just received a text and even though she knew she shouldn't, her eyes immediately scanned the screen to read it. 

Theresa (Sacramento): Just saw that you're gonna be in town next week for a show. Last time was so hot. I still think about it, make sure to hit me up handsome :-*

Maren wanted to be sick. She was actually sitting on a plane with this man and he was getting texts from other women. Before she could react she saw Brian coming back up the aisle towards her. She was already on the plane and they were minutes away from take-off, there was nothing she could do. 

"This for me?" he asked. 

"What?" she snapped. 

Brian flinched at the sudden attitude, "The drink, this for me?" he asked pointing to the cup on his tray. 

"Oh yeah, its all yours." she answered. 

"Thanks." he smiled but was unsure of her current change in mood. He brushed it off at pre flight nerves and took a seat. The flight attendant made the announcement over the intercom that the flight would be taking off. "Here we go." he said squeezing her leg. 

"Yup here we go." Maren said rolling her eyes as she turned her attention to the window. Now what was she gonna do?   
________________________________  
They had been up in the air for an hour and Maren still hadn't said a word to him. She hadn't touched her wine either which was most likely piss warm at this point. Brian was getting more and more aggravated with each passing minute now. Maren was mirroring Brian's bad mood. When he got himself settled back into his seat at takeoff she saw him glance at his phone then power it off for the flight. So he saw the text and said nothing to her, not 24 hours into making things official and he was already keeping things from her. This trip was a mistake...she knew it.  
_______________________________  
As they made their way through the airport towards baggage claim, Brian couldn't take it anymore. "Alright enough!" He said throwing his backpack down on a nearby bench. "What the hell is your problem?!" 

"Excuse me?" She asked looking around embarrassed that he was yelling in the middle of the airport. 

"You haven't said a word in 4 fucking hours! Is this how the whole trip is gonna be cuz tell me now so I can book a ticket home." He said. 

"I saw your phone Brian, who's Theresa from Sacramento?" Maren replied crossing her arms over her chest. 

Brian sighed loudly now piecing it together. "That's what you're so pissed about? She's nobody." 

"Doesn't really seem like nobody. She wants to meet up with you when you're out there." Maren said. "How many other girls are in your phone with city names in parenthesis. Like you don't even remember their names, you have to identify girls by what city you meet them in...seriously?!" 

"Maren It's been years since I've been in a relationship, so yeah I have spent time with women when I'm on tour. Doesn't mean that continues. You're very observant, didn't you notice I didn't answer her back?" He questioned raising his eyebrows waiting for an answer. 

"It doesn't matter Brian." Maren responded sitting on the iron bench across from the one he was sitting on. 

"How doesn't it matter?!" He shouted looking over at her. 

"It's like you have a girl in every city around the world, Hailee seems to pop up whenever the hell she pleases. It's a lot to take!" She exclaimed.  When Brian didn't answer, Maren took a deep breath before speaking again. The last thing she wanted was to have a screaming match in the middle of an airport. "How many girls are in your phone that you causally hook up with?" 

"I don't know...some I guess." He answered. Truth was he really didn't know. He was starting to see how bad this probably looked and how shitty it must have made Maren feel. After all the second he saw Maren's ex his blood pressure spiked. He couldn't image how he'd feel if he was texting her referencing hooking up. He got up and took a seat next to her. "Listen, I haven't done this in a really long time...almost too long. But I do know that I care about you a lot and want to make you happy." When he saw her bad mood start to deflate a little he took a chance and put his arm around her. "You and I agreed to keep this relationship between us for now so I can't exactly go in my phone and text every person telling them I'm with someone. But what I can promise is to never respond or even entertain the thought of being with any other girl. Okay?" 

Maren was still unsure. She felt this whole thing starting to get complicated however one look into those puppy dog brown eyes started to cause her to crumble. "Please don't break my heart." She whispered.

Brian took her face in his hands, "I promise, that will not happen. You trust me?" He asked. 

Maren nodded her head that was still between his hands. "I trust you." She whispered. 

Brian then thought for a moment, "Here just to prove to you how serious I am..." He then removed his phone from his pocket. First thing he did was delete the text from Theresa. Then he opened his contacts and began scrolling stopping at random ones and deleting one after the other. Abby from DC, Jasmine from Dallas, Maria from Tulsa, Rachel from LA, Tracey from Miami. 

"Brian you really don't have to do that." Maren said watching as he deleted Veronica from Richmond.

"No I do." Brian responded. "I see it being hard to trust me with all these numbers in my phone." He laced his fingers between hers, "Maren I'm not perfect, I'm gonna say and do stupid shit sometimes that will probably hurt your feelings but I will never do what you are implying. I'm all in." He smiled sweetly hoping to god he convinced her and they could move on and enjoy this trip. 

A small smile creeped on her lips. "I'm sorry I put such a damper on this trip. I just freaked out when I thought..." 

"I know what you thought." He interrupted. "Never." He mouthed as he leaned in for a kiss. 

"Okay." She agreed kissing him back. 

"Now can we get this vacation started please. We got three days down here, I'd like to get you drunk on the beach so I can take advantage of you already." He laughed standing up and taking her hand.   
________________________________  
"This is where we're staying?" She asked walking into the room Brian had booked. 

"Yeah, it okay?" He asked now wondering if he should have played it safe and got a regular hotel room. However this is where he always stayed and he really enjoyed it here. 

"Baby this is amazing." She said stunned at the view they had. Brian has rented out a condo type space, with a full kitchen and living area. There were some five star hotels in the area but none that had the view of the beach that this place had. The deck of the kitchen opened up to the property's private beach. They were literally 5 steps from the sand.

"You called me baby." Brian smiled a little taken back. Only time he had heard that from her lips was during sex, never in a normal conversation. 

"Yeah, guess I did." She laughed.

"I like it." He said bringing his lips down to hers and kissing them softly. 

"Me too." She giggled. Brian slowly started kissing down her neck and reached his hands behind her to cup her ass. 

"What happened to getting me drunk first?" She teased. 

"Something tells me, I don't even have to." He said between licks and nibbles. Suddenly Maren felt her feet leave the ground as Brian picked her up bridal style and carried her off to the bedroom. She held tight to his neck laughing in delight. 

Once he crashed through the door he threw her down and got to removing his shirt and pants. Maren was doing the same, the entire time her heart slammed against the inside of her chest as she fought for breaths. This man could make her do anything and she was beginning to welcome the feeling with open arms. Sex with Brian Quinn was on another level of anything she'd ever done before. 

When Brian noticed she had unhooked her bra and was just kneeling on the bed in a pair of cotton underwear he licked his lips. Usually women would pick a sexy thong or lacey panties but Maren was a girl that liked to play it safe and that was something Brian loved about her. As she began to slide them down, Brian stopped her. "Let me do it baby." He said in a hush whisper. 

He ducked his head down and started to munch over the underwear. Even with the piece of fabric separating his mouth from her most sensitive area, her hips we're wiggling with anticipation. She could feel his heavy breath through them and was currently begging for him to stop torturing her. 

Brian pushed his tongue very roughly against the cotton material and teased her through them. "Fuck." She moaned. 

He figured she had enough teasing and reached up to slowly slide them down her body. As they slid down his tongue followed causing goosebumps all over her legs. 

"I want you." She whined out in a cutest voice Brian could imagine.

"I want you too baby." He said. At first he had full intentions of pleasuring her until she was screaming for mercy but right now he couldn't contain himself much longer. The looks she was giving him, the sounds she was making, the feel of her soft skin against his; Brian needed to be inside her and quick. 

Maren needed him just as bad so quickly sitting back up she turned around so her beautiful naked ass was facing him and got on all fours leaning on her forearms. Once Brian watched her bend forward so her ass and pussy were directly in front of him he was done for. "Shit." He muttered stroking himself. "You're so sexy." 

"I'm all yours baby." She moaned. 

Not another word was needed, Brian licked his lips and knelt behind her. Couple seconds later and Maren was already screaming in pleasure. "God you're so good." She yelled with her face half muffled by the pillow beneath her. 

Brian's head was bent back as he fucked her from behind. She was so perfect, so tight, so willing to do anything. Why hadn't he seen this sooner? A smile spread across Brian's face when he felt her release. "That feel good baby?" He asked stroking her hair off her neck gently. 

"Shit...yes." She answered feeling so good at the moment. 

"Good cuz now I want it fucking rough." He growled grabbing her hair in his fist and pulling as he fucked her hard. 

"Ahhhh..." Maren cried out in both pleasure and a little bit of pain. "Shit Brian...so good." This was something that made Brian so good in bed; he was unpredictable. One second he was taking care of her needs and being sweet and the next he was pulling her hair and using her for his personal pleasure. Maren was becoming obsessed with both versions of him. 

"I'm so close baby. Fuck I'm gonna cum." He shouted. He didn't want to but she just felt so good. However there would be so much time the next three days for this again and again. 

Maren felt him pull out and knew he was about to release so she turned around quickly taking him in her mouth. Brian's eyes widen at first when he saw her doing something so sexy and so naughty. But the intensity of his own pleasure was too much and he quickly shut his eyes as he exploded in his girl's mouth. When he opened his eyes again he studied her wiping her mouth and smiling up at him. 

"Oh boy, this is gonna be bad." He laughed shaking his head. 

Maren knew what he was talking about and couldn't agree more. Very quickly they were becoming more and more obsessed with one another. Afterall they literally just finished and all Maren could think about was the next time they could do it again.   
_______________________________  
The sun hadn't set yet but it was getting lower in the sky and creating the most beautiful shades of yellows and pinks. "There's a bar out there on the beach for guests, shall we?" He asked buttoning up his shirt fresh from the shower; hair still wet. Maren slipped on her flip flops and nodded happily. 

With drinks in hand, a beer for Brian and pina- colada for Maren, they found a spot in the sand facing the water, beautiful sky up above. "This is perfect." She said softly resting her head against his arm. 

'You're perfect baby.' Brian said silently to himself. What was this woman doing to him?


	23. Your Buzzcut and My Hair Bleached

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co-written with Hopedanglesonastring

Magic hour as the kids on social media call it was in full effect. Maren sipped on her fruity cocktail, breathing in the relaxing salt air as the waves crashed not far from her feet. Magic hour just took on a whole new meaning for Maren.

She glanced over to the handsome man to her right, “This was a great idea,” she said flipping the sand around with her toes.

He nodded his head before taking a sip of his Jameson, “I agree.” He turned towards her and smiled. It was just the two of them. The outside world was gone, and for now, it was just them. On this beach, drinks in their hands, totally relaxed.

He squeezed her hand, “You good? If you’re cold I can run inside and grab a blanket?” 

Maren smiled up at him, “Is this really happening?” 

Brian shook his head no, “Dammit Mar you finally caught me. This has actually been a punishment the ENTIRE time!” 

She chuckled and started to get up, “Oh good, the bartender was kinda cute, I’m gonna see if I can grab his number” 

Brian grabbed at her hand and pulled her back down towards the sand into his lap, “Oh no you don’t.. you’re not going anywhere!” He nuzzled his face into her neck and kissed her ear. She closed her eyes and smiled as he continued kissing her neck. She rubbed his arms as they squeezed around her.

“What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?” he whispered kissing her temple. 

“Thinking how it’s been awhile since I checked my phone” Maren said quickly, then let out a chuckle when she saw the look on annoyed look Brian’s face. 

“I know, you’re addicted to that thing.” Brian started to say when Maren interrupted-  
“For work! I’m addicted to it for work!” 

Brian gave a little nod, showing she was convincing no one and continued, “No phones for the rest of the trip.”

Maren nodded in agreement and finally answered the question when she noticed Brian gave her an I’m waiting look.

“A lot.” Maren said with a chuckle that was more nervous than anything. It was becoming apparent to Brian that Maren was a complicated person. And she was aware he was noticing and that scared her. Complicated though in the same way he was. Wounded in a way. She would overthink and over analyze. Something she never did when it came to her job, but that’s always how he saw her before. Work only. Things have obviously changed.

“Ok, so let’s start with one. What’s the loudest thing screaming in your head right now?” He asked as he loosened up his grip on her.

She sat up from his lap and looked out over the water. “I haven’t been with someone in a long time. Relationship wise. It’s terrifying. I thought my last relationship was the last time I’d ever have to “date” again. It was devastating when it ended. So, it’s scary letting myself get this close to someone again. To open up again.”

Brian didn’t respond right away. It was because he understood. He had been in the same boat. Though he didn’t discuss it often, Brian had his heart broken once also, and his world came crashing down too. What struck him most though about this revelation from Maren, is he never realized that he had that in common with her. He never paid attention to her before... he had her all wrong.

 

Gently he leaned over and started rubbing her back. She was leaned over, laying her head on her knees that were brought up to her chest. He scooted up behind her and took her between his knees, leaning her head back against his chest. He leaned down and kissed her head. He rubbed his thumb against her arm, and noticed she had goosebumps from his touch. His heart skipped a beat for a moment when he realized he was going to fall in love with this woman. 

“Love is risky, that’s for sure. I’ve been there Maren. She left also. It took a long time for me to become a human being again after that.” 

Maren knew Brian’s heart got broken before, even though he rarely talked about it. She heard it mostly through the few times he talked about it on TESD or from comments here and there from Sal. 

“I know, “It’s all Fantasy Mar, Mr Right isn’t out there on a white horse waiting to scoop you up” , Maren said mocking the words he said to her that night before her panic attack. She sat up and looked at him. She winked and gave him a smirk. It was kinda fun to see him squirm.

And squirm he did. Brian raised his hand and scratched behind his ear, looking quite embarrassed, “Hmm I did say that didn’t I?!” He said with a chuckle.

Maren smiled at him, wanting to see him sweet talk his way out of this one. “Yeah, you’re a real romantic on the sweet talk, that’s for sure!” Maren said playfully swatting him, as she leaned in for a kiss.

He kissed her back, relieved that she leaned in for a kiss. But when they broke apart, he turned serious. Looking in her eyes, he took her face in one hand. Rubbing his thumb against her cheek, he took a deep breath. This wasn’t easy for him to say. But he realized he really had fucked up the last two years, “I’m really sorry Maren. I was really wrong about you these last few years. Thank you for letting me in.” 

Maren’s eyes welled up with tears and she fought hard to keep them from spilling over. She realized she hadn’t taken a breath since he said that. Quickly, she decided to chose humor to diffuse the situation. “So what, you’re saying that Mr Right IS out there now waiting to scoop me up?!” she said laughing.

Still holding her face in his hand, he laughed before kissing her softly on the lips. “He’s already got you, and he isn’t letting go.”

Brian felt her tears on his face as she kissed him back passionately. All he wanted to do was pick her up and take her back to the hotel room and kiss every part of her body, but he didn’t want this night on the beach to end.  
When he broke apart from her lips, she smiled at him and he wiped the tears from her face. “I’m going to get us more drinks,” he said motioning with his glass towards the bar.

Maren smiled and nodded to him. She watched as he walked away and looked up at the stars that were starting to twinkle in the sky above her. “Please don’t mess this up” she said quietly to herself.

_____________________________________________

“I will NEVER forget the look on your face,” Brian was doubled over in the lounge chair, face bright red from laughing. 

Maren couldn’t catch her breath from laughing either. “I mean.. it was my first WEEK! My first week and I had to see James NAKED?! I mean WTF,” Maren managed to squeak out in between trying to catch her breath.

Hours passed since they first sat down in the sand. The drinks kept coming and neither Maren or Brian had a care in the world. The two hadn’t stopped talking and reminiscing since the stars came out. There was no place either of them would have rather been.

“Ok, ok.. so tell me. Honestly! You did vote to not hire me, didn’t you?!?” Maren was sitting with her legs crossed like a pretzel towards Brian’s lounge chair. 

Relaxed laying back in the chair, he took a sip from his glass and raised his eyebrows towards her, as if to say “I’ll never tell”.

Maren rolled her eyes, “Oh whatever!!!” she chuckled as she laid back down on her lounge chair.

“No, Maren I did not vote to not hire you. I was in agreement with the rest of the guys.” He said as he leaned over and pecked her cheek. “And I thought you were hot.”

Maren playfully pushed his shoulder. “Typical.” She said laughing.

Brian laughed, “Yes .. typical that I’m a guy and a hot girl interviewed to spend days and nights in close quarters with me, sorry... yes, I thought you were hot!!”

Maren chuckled, “I thought you were pretty cute too.” 

Brian sat up straight now and faced her, “That I don’t believe.”

Maren shrugged, “You don’t have too. But I did. Still do too,” she said sticking her tongue out playfully.

Brian shook his head and smiled. It didn’t seem real. All this time, she was right under his nose. They were both pretty buzzed at this point and no topic seemed off limits. 

“Ok.. so what’s with the singing? How did that come about?” Brian asked, laying down in the lounge chair, his arm holding up his head, body turned toward Maren.

Maren sipped her drink and shrugged her shoulders, “I think once my dad left, and it was just my mom and I, I started writing more, just as a way to get out of my own head. It was a way of dealing with everything.” She gazed out over the ocean, knowing the question that was coming next. 

“Left?,” Brian asked quietly. He knew her mom had passed when Maren was young. But that was it. 

Maren nodded. “Yeah, my Dad left when I was 14.” 

Brian hadn’t ever realized. He knew she spent holidays with Joe, but he never really questioned it. He again couldn’t believe this whole time he never gave Maren the time of day before. He shook his head slightly, “I’m sorry Maren, that couldn’t have been easy.”

Maren again just shrugged her shoulders. “It is what it is. He was never really around anyway. He worked a lot. We weren’t close.”

“What did he do for work?” Brian asked.

Maren let out a little sigh and smirked, “You’re gonna love this,” she said as she re-adjusted herself in her lounge chair. “He was a Firefighter. He was a battalion chief.” 

Brian eyebrows hit the ceiling. He wasn’t expecting that. “Wow..” was all he managed to get out.

“Yeah.” Maren said nodding. They both sat silent for a moment. Neither knowing what to say.

Maren quickly changed the subject. “What I want to know though.. is what does Brian want?”

He quickly turned his head in her direction and smirked. She laughed, “I meant out of life, not me naked in bed right now, smartass”

He laughed and let out a sigh. What was it that Brian wanted?


	25. Even In My Worst Times

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co-written with Hopedanglesonastring

"Maren. Maren." Brian whispered against her ear shaking her from sleep. 

Maren groaned shoving her face under the pillow. Brian laughed when she mumbled something he couldn't translate but he was positive it wasn't anything nice. He knelt down next to the bed, "Come on sleepyhead, rise and shine." He said pulling the pillow off her head and blanket off her body. 

Maren looked over at the clock on the wall and instantly became even more annoyed. "It's 4:30 in the morning, are you insane Quinn?!"   
The pair had been outside on the beach talking way past midnight looking up at the stars. Combine that with the sex they had when they got back to the room, it went without saying she was exhausted. 

"I know it's early but it's worth it I promise." Brian insisted. "Come on, we gotta leave in 15 minutes."   
________________________________  
"Here take this." Brian said handing her one of his old firehouse sweatshirts when they got in the cab. 

"Sweatshirt? Brian we're in Florida." She questioned. 

"Just trust me." He smiled. 

"I don't typically trust people when I'm running on a couple hours of sleep." She pouted resting her head against the window. 

"You're cute when you're all huffy and puffy." He teased nudging her with his elbow. 

"Quit it Quinn!" She snapped but tried to hide her laugh as he began to tickle her. 

"It's worth it I promise." He said kissing her cheek. 

The cab drive wasn't long and they reached their destination after about 10 minutes. It was still dark and after Brian paid the cab driver, he grabbed her hand and led the way to a dock off the beach. The lights from the street were too far away and it was a little difficult to see. "Okay this is like CSI shit. Where are we going?" 

"You're cranky when you're tired." He teased. "It's just up this way." 

Maren held Brian's hand as they walked along the dock and once they stopped she was floored. He smiled when he saw her face. "Told you it was worth it." 

"We're going on that?" She asked pointing to a beautiful pearl white yacht. 

"Thought we could have breakfast and watch the sunrise." He explained putting his hand at the small of her back. 

"Good morning folks!" A voice called out. A nicely dressed man greeted them as they walked onto the boat. "I'm Captain Ryans and I'll be chartering your boat today. Please head upstairs to the top deck where breakfast will be served. We'll be setting sail shortly." 

"Thank you so much." Brian said shaking his hand before heading upstairs. 

Upstairs their was a table decorated with soft white linens. Comfy tan leather couches lined the edges of the deck. The sun still hadn't risen yet but Maren was excited, it was definitely going to be beautiful from up here. 

"Mimosas?" A young cocktail waitress offered carrying a tray of juice, champagne, and two empty glasses. 

"Yes thank you!" Maren said as the women set the tray down and began to pour for them. 

"My name's Jane. Please let me know if you need anything else. I'll have breakfast up in just a bit." She informed as she headed back down the steps. 

Maren was grateful for Brian's sweatshirt and quickly pulled it over her head. Despite being in Florida, it was still chilly on the water. Brian smiled seeing her in his clothes, even though she was practically swimming in it, she looked breathtaking. God was he really starting to fall hard for this woman. 

"Alright spill!" Maren finally said breaking the silence. 

"Whatta mean?" He asked taking a sip from his glass. 

"What I mean is, why are you being so perfect? The Brian Quinn I know would think planning a sunrise breakfast on a boat incredibly cheesy and waste of time." Maren said. 

"I thought we covered this last night, I've been wrong about a lot of things." He said. "I thought this would be a nice way to start the day. Let me spoil you a little bit." 

It was an instant reflex for Maren to overthink any situation that came her way but this time she fought everything in herself and decided to just enjoy this. She turned her body so her back was to his chest and leaned into him. Brian wrapped his free arm around her body and gently kissed the top of her head. Soon enough the engines roared and they began pulling away from the dock. 

At 5:37am the sun began to rise over the ocean and boy was it beautiful. The different shades of pinks and oranges blended together just like a gorgeous painting and the way it bounced off the water really added to the beauty. Maren could stare at it for hours if allowed. 

Brian had packed his camera and started taking snapshots of the scene in front of them. With Maren quiet and busy admiring, he snuck a few candid pictures of her. He glanced at the screen and smiled when he saw some of the beautiful images he had captured of her. "Excuse me, Miss?" He asked Jane. "Can I bother you to take a photo?" 

Maren turned when she heard this, "Oh no, you dragged me out of bed at 4am, no way am I ready for a picture!" 

"Just shut up and smile please." He said pulling her next to him close. 

Jane took a few different pictures with the ocean and colorful sky behind them. The pair leaned in close to one another and smiled brightly. "Those are gonna come out so cute." She complimented as she handed back the camera. 

Brian had the boat for a couple more hours before they had to return to the dock. They were both stuffed from breakfast and for awhile just cuddled up and enjoyed being out on the water. This was one thing that Brian really enjoyed about being with Maren. Most girls he had been with in the past wanted to talk his ear off constantly. Sometimes Brian just liked silence and Maren was the same way. She was perfectly happy just being wrapped in his arms in a happy comfortable quiet. 

Once their plates were cleared, Jane let them know that she would be downstairs and to use the boat phone if they needed anything at all. Maren smiled thanking her but Brian's mind was elsewhere. The second the waitress disappeared from sight, he began kissing Maren's neck. She instantly closed her eyes and enjoyed the affection. 

However when he pushed her back against the couch and swung his leg over to straddle her, that's when she got nervous. "Are you insane?!" She exclaimed.  "Stop!" 

Brian dipped his hand into their jeans and began rubbing her but was met with a surprise. "You're not wearing any underwear Maren?" He smiled devilishly. 

"No! How many times do I have to tell you, some asshole dragged me outta bed at 4am!" She giggled trying to push him off. 

"Well that makes my job ten times easier." He said ducking his head down. 

Brian quickly pulled at the pants and immediately starting attacking her with his mouth. Maren jumped a mile high, "Oh my god stop!" She started to say but was then distracted by how good he was making her feel. 

"Mmm...so good." He growled into her opening. 

"Jesus Brian." She said breathing out heavily. For the moment she was too focused on what his tongue was doing to care about anything else. She felt him flatten it straight against her and move it up and down and side to side. He paid extra special attention to her clit and when he sucked on it she bucked up with pleasure. 

"Cum baby." He whispered as he placed soft kisses against her stomach. As he inserted two strong fingers inside her, he watched as her face tightened up. She was close, he knew it.   
"Let me taste my girl." He begged as he pumped a little harder into her. 

"Fuck Brian,oh fuck!" She cried out. "Yes baby, yes!" Brian quickly pushed her legs up closer to her chest and watched as she came everywhere for him. 

It took some time before Maren was able to catch her breathe. It certainly didn't help that Brian was staring at her with the cockiest smile plastered on his face. He just dominated her and made her cum on a private boat deck with people right below them. She couldn't help but shake her head in disbelief. 

"I thought I was getting romantic sweet Brian this morning, not sex crazed Q." She laughed. 

"Something you need to learn quick about me baby, you never quite know which one you're gonna get." He winked. 

She leaned in giving him a long passionate kiss then rubbed her nose against his softly, "Well lucky for you, I'm crazy about both of them!"


	26. YouCould See the Best of Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> co-written with hopedanglesonastring. 
> 
> Hope everyone enjoys!

The sound and jolt of the yacht engine shutting down stirred Maren’s body slightly and she opened her eyes. Her quiet movement spurred Brian’s eyes open as well. Both happy and content, they realized they dozed off. 

Maren leaned up to kiss Brian. “Hi sleepyhead,” she grinned repeating a smaller kiss again.

“Morning beautiful,” he groaned back into her kiss. Maren got up to her feet and stretched. Brian turned forward on the couch and got to his feet as well, just as Jane and Captain Ryans appeared on deck.

“Mr. Quinn, ma’am, did you enjoy the sunrise? Sure is beautiful isn’t it,” he said gesturing out towards the water.

Brian nodded and stuck out his hand, “Yes Captain, Jane,” he said turning towards her. “It was fantastic, thank you so much for your hospitality.” Captain Ryans and Jane shook his hand.

Captain Ryans nodded, “Absolutely, anytime. It was our pleasure. Would it be possible if we could get a photo with you for our website?”

Maren felt her stomach tense up. It smacked her back into reality. The real world her and Brian had successfully managed to avoid since they left the airport after the text message debacle.

Brian took a moment, but agreed with a nod. “Sure, only I ask that you do not post it for a few days.” 

The Captain nodded. Once the photo was taken and everyone said their goodbyes, Brian and Maren found themselves back in a taxi.

“Southernmost point, please,” Brian told the driver.

“What’s that?” Maren asked confused. She was really hoping they would head back to the hotel, curl up in bed and make-out.

“It’s the Southernmost Point of the United States. Everyone who comes to the Keys has to take a picture next to the giant buoy. It’s tradition. I figure we get it done now, before it gets too crowded. It’s kinda a tourist spot,” Brian said rubbing her leg.

Maren groaned, “Bri, I didn’t think we’d be taking pics, when you woke me after an hour and a half of sleep.” she said playfully pinching him.

“Stop, you’re beautiful. It will be quick,” Brian said squeezing her leg as the car came to a stop. Brian handed the driver some cash and held her hand as they both got out of the car.

Standing before Maren, was a giant red and yellow buoy, that said “Cuba 90 miles” with a giant arrow on it. She raised an eyebrow and looked over at Brian, who was laughing.

“C’mon, lets do it,” he said holding his hand out towards her. She smiled at his enthusiasm, and how excited he was asking someone to take their pic. She was going to fall in love with this man.

They smiled as the tourist kindly took a few photos, one with them together on one side, and then one with each of them on each side of the buoy. 

Brian grabbed his camera back from the tourist and thanked him, “One more baby,” he said as he leaned in and kissed Maren on the cheek as he held up his phone and took a selfie.

“Alright Quinn, we done playing tourist now?!” Maren asked smacking his butt playfully. “Wouldn’t mind curling up in bed with you.”

Brian cupped her face in his hands and kissed her gently, sliding his tongue past her teeth. Her knees buckled from the bliss she was feeling.

When he came up for air, he smiled and took her hand. “Works for me. Let’s walk, the hotel isn’t far.”

Although they hadn’t been outside their hotel much, and it was only their first full day here, Maren was realizing Key West was pretty small. Almost no one drove cars, opting for golf carts or motorized scooters or walking instead. Plus.. there were chickens.

Maren smiled and took his hand. “Walking sounds good. Quinn, what’s the deal with all the chickens?” She said pointing them out as they started walking back to the hotel.

Brian chuckled, “Not entirely sure, but they definitely add to the appeal, dontcha think?” 

Maren nodded and chuckled as well. Another thing Maren started to remember, is how unpredictable Florida weather was. One minute it was sunny and gorgeous, and the next the sky would open up. Which is exactly what was happening currently.

“Aaaah,” Maren smiled and laughed looking up towards the sky. She let go of Brian’s hand and started jogging. She turned to make sure he was keeping up with her but he was just casually walking with a huge grin on his face.

“Come on! You’re getting all wet..” Maren gestured for him to hurry up but he just smiled.

Maren stopped and looked up at the sky. The rain fell steadily, they were both drenched, but it dawned on her, that this was the stuff literally dreams were made of. She then thought that maybe it had dawned on him too.

She walked back a few feet to where he was still walking and went in for a kiss. It was deep and passionate and neither of them gave a shit when someone across the street at a café whistled at them. Brian returned the kiss with just as much fervor. Nothing else mattered. They were two fools falling in love in the pouring rain, a thousand miles from their actual lives.

_____________________________________________

The feeling of his breath on her neck gently woke her, a smile spreading across her lips. They could barely wait until the door was closed to the room before they tore the wet clothes off of one another.

Goosebumps appeared on her arms at the thought of Brian and the way his hands worked his way all over her naked, wet body. Her nipples were starting to get hard again as she thought back to a few hours prior, her riding him fast with the ocean on display behind him. She bit her lip and held her breath thinking how well he had gotten to know her body, always hitting just the right spots that made her scream.

She glanced over to Brian who was still peacefully sleeping. She crawled out from under his arm, and was now laying in the bed on her side, facing him directly. Studying his face, she wondered if he always had that little scar at the corner of his left eye. She had never noticed before. All the things that are right in front of our eyes sometimes, and yet we don’t see them, she thought.

“Hi,” he whispered shyly. He brought his hand to her face and rubbed her cheek. 

Maren smiled, embarrassed. “You caught me” she whispered placing a kiss on his cheek.

“Listen, there are worse ways to be woken up,” he teased starting to tickle her.

“NO! No!! Don’t start that,” Maren said wiggling away, so much so that she fell off the edge of the bed.

“You have such grace,” Brian laughed peeking over the side of the bed.

Maren shook her head and rolled her eyes, letting a laugh escape, “Oh come on Quinn, you’re used to all the girls falling over themselves when it comes to you” she quickly retorted hopping back into bed.

Brian rolled his eyes, “Look at Maren, with the jokes. Don’t quit your day job,” he said pulling her into a cuddle.

“Oh if you’ve only known how many times I’ve almost quit.” Maren snickered.

Brian became serious “Really??”

Maren flipped over and was now on her side face to face with him again. “Yes” she nodded, feeling the mood in the room shift.

She could tell Brian felt bad so she changed the subject. “How did you get this little scar.. right.. here,” she said and gently bopped his scar with her finger.

He grabbed the finger that bopped him and kissed it gently. A blush creeped on his face. “It was an old firefighting injury. A wall collapsed while a few of us were inside fighting the fire and a piece struck me. Thankfully it was a small piece and it didn’t land in my eye.”

While Maren knew he was a firefighter and had heard him tell stories before on TESD, it was different to hear them, now that she was falling in love with him. 

“Well,” she started and then kissed the little scar by his eye, and then kissed his eyelid for good measure, “thank you for your service Mr. Quinn”

Brian smiled as they stared at each other for a few seconds. “Hey how come you never mentioned your Dad was a firefighter?” 

Brian could see Maren’s eyes turn cold at the mention of her father, and he instantly felt bad about bringing him up. “I’m sorry we don’t..”

Maren shook her head interrupting him, “No. it’s ok..” she paused and stared off for a second before continuing. “I dunno. You’re so proud of having been a firefighter and I admire that. Not all firefighters are good people. I just didn’t want to rain on that parade for you, if that makes any sense.”

Brian nodded and kissed her forehead. He closed his eyes and rested her head beneath his chin pulling her in for an embrace.

“Hey, it’s ok. I’m ok.” Maren said pulling away from him slightly, looking up at his brown eyes.

Brian nodded without saying anything. There was so much yet to learn about her. He still was having a hard time processing that she was right here in front of him for the last two years.

“I’m proud of you by the way. Not anyone can be a firefighter. It’s not an easy lifestyle. The shifts, the injuries, having to take your emotions out of it. I understand and I’m proud of you.” 

Brian stared into her eyes when she said that last part. “Having to take your emotions out of it.” He replayed her saying it over in his head. He then said it out loud. 

She shrugged, “Yeah a lot of things started making sense when I started seeing a therapist. They explained how certain professions, doctors, nurses cops, firefighters etc, have to take their emotions out of it. Workwise and how sometimes that carries over to their personal lives. It took awhile for me to realize my dad leaving wasn’t my fault, or my mom's for that matter.” She said quietly. He was still looking at her. 

She continued nervously, “Do you remember when I asked you if you ever get sick of it, the lifestyle of a different girl every night. I realized, in a way you just took your emotions out of it. That was the firefighter in you. But for the longest time, it would piss me off. That’s why I never liked you. I saw him in you, and I hated you for it.” Marens voice became wobbly.

That was what he was waiting to hear. It all made sense now to him in a way. The tears spilled over from her eyes. He closed his and took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’ve been so wrong about you. I’m sorry that we’ve wasted the last two years.” She said fighting back tears.

“Hey hey.. no.. Shh.. No. You have nothing to be sorry for. It all makes sense Maren. It’s ok. There was a million things we both could have done differently in the past, but we aren’t there anymore. We made our way to each other. Doesn’t matter how we got there.” The hand he had placed resting on her waist, moved up to her cheek stroking the tears away.

Maren let out a small sigh as she sniffed. “No ones ever held my face in their hands like you do. It’s becoming my favorite thing.” 

Brian stared into her eyes and before the words left his mouth, he felt them. “That’s because no one has ever loved you like I do.”


	27. Flashback to my Mistakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Conwritten with Hopedanglesonastring 
> 
>  
> 
> A/N: So for those that have listened to Q's Scooterdude story on TESD, this sounds familiar. Tried to keep it as accurate as possible.

"You what?" Maren asked sitting up and looking at Brian laying next to her. 

"Shit." Brian whispered under his breath. "It's kinda been on the tip of my tongue for a few days now. It kinda just came out." He was now screaming at himself in his head, he knew he just made this super weird and awkward now. Brian quickly felt the sudden urge to get distance from this woman. "I'm gonna take a shower." Grabbing a change of clothes from his bag, he quickly retreated to the bathroom without another word. 

Maren stayed in bed staring up at the ceiling. Brian actually loved her? Things were going great between them but never in a million years did she think he was going to say that to her. Subconsciously she heard the water of the shower turn on but her mind was racing at the moment. 

Brian had been showing a side of himself that she wouldn't have imagined before. He was sweet, affectionate, shared things with her she was confident he hadn't shared with anyone else. And vise versa, Maren was able to open up to him about things that she hadn't thought about in years. The way he made her feel was different then how any other man ever did. He made her feel safe and protective; he wasn't out for his own selfishness. Ever since their last tour and things started to change between them, she was constantly thinking about him. His little good morning texts made her entire day and the little looks he would shoot her way made her heart want to pound out of her chest. 

It was then that it hit her like a speeding train, she was in love with this man. Maren threw the covers off of her and made her way to the bathroom. When she opened the door she was instantly hit with steam and the scent of Brian's soap. It was a smell she had become obsessed with. Whether they were in the middle of sex or she was falling asleep cuddled into his side, it was a smell that now comforted her. 

She slid back the curtain and joined him instantly startling him. "Hi." She smiled. 

"Hey." He said immediately putting his head under the shower head to wash out the shampoo. When he finished she placed her arms around his neck to get his attention. "Brian..." 

"Listen..." Brian interrupted, "Maybe I just got all caught up with emotions but I clearly freaked you out. Forget I..." 

It wasn't often that Maren was the one to take charge but she knew it was necessary. The last thing she wanted to hear was Brian say he didn't mean it so she quickly put her finger over his lips to quiet him. "I love you too." She said. 

"Maren." He sighed, "You don't have to say it because I did, in fact I would prefer if you didn't. I saw the look in your eyes." 

"I was surprised yeah, but that doesn't mean I don't mean it. It's very fast but I don't think that's bad." She smiled rubbing her hands up and down his wet chest. 

Brian was silent for a moment processing what she was saying. He then hung his head down shaking it a few times, almost as a way to collect his thoughts. "This is crazy." He laughed when he picked his head back up to look at her. 

"People would think we are insane." She responding. 

"I don't really care." He said as he lowered his neck to capture her lips with his. As their kiss deepened Brian pushed her against the shower wall. They had already christened this shower the first day but were eager to do it again. 

Brian supported her body with his and slammed into her hard. "Holy shit." She moaned clawing the back of his neck. As Brian continued to pound into her calling her beautiful and amazing and most importantly...his, she was trying her hardest to shut her brain off. She was just trying to live in the moment but unfortunately she never was able to do that. She just prayed that nothing would ruin this because even being this early into a relationship, Maren already couldn't picture her life without him. 

"Baby...fuck so good. I'm gonna cum. Maren!" Brian exclaimed as he did his best to put her down so he could release. However the feeling was too intense and he accidentally fell forward causing them both to slip and land on the floor of the shower. Once the pair realized they were both okay from the fall, they exploded with laughter. "Gotta say that's the first time cumming as literally knocked me off my feet." 

Maren was laughing so hard she could barely breath as she leaned against Brian with water falling down on top of them. "You're such an idiot Quinn." She managed to say through laughter.   
________________________________  
They decided on an early dinner since they were still exhausted from being up for early. As they sat outside on the patio of a nice quiet restaurant they looked out onto the water. "How long have you been coming down here?" She asked. Since the moment their trip began Brian knew all the hidden gems to go to. 

"Oh god...years." He answered. He then let out a small chuckle to himself. 

"What?" She asked smiling. 

"Nothing." He said taking a sip of his beer.

"You're laughing at something." She pestered. 

Brian realized there was no hiding anything from this woman, he already confessed he was in love with her, might as well keep going. "It's just funny how this place can hold so many good memories but also so many bad ones too." 

"What you mean?" She asked. 

"This was pretty much the beginning of the end of my engagement." He said. 

"How so?" She asked. 

"Its a long story, you really don't wanna know." He responded. 

"I do though. I mean...as long as you're okay talking about it. I'm dying to know everything about you, what makes Brian Quinn Brian Quinn." She said as she reached over grabbing his hand. 

"I don't mind talking about it, it was a lifetime ago." He said then stopped the waiter has he walked by. "Another round please." He then turned to Maren, "Buckle up sweetheart." He laughed. 

Mentally Brian took a second to prepare himself, it had been ages since he'd talked about this. "So I was 24, and only months away from getting married. She had this cruise she always went on with friends so when she was gone I came down to Key West. Had fun down here for a couple days but on the way back when I talked to her, she just sounded strange. But I brushed it off, when I got home she said she hung out with so and so's cousin but nothing happened." 

"She cheated?" Maren interrupted. 

Brian smiled and held up his hand, "Stand by." He laughed. "Anyways at this point in my life you have to remember I was very different. I was working a mediocre job that I hated and was about to enter a marriage I deep down wasn't ready for. I was also very passive back then and rarely spoke my mind and I just let everything roll off my back. Finally one night I couldn't take it anymore and admitted how I was feeling. Told her how depressed I had become and I really needed to improve myself before I could go into a marriage." 

Maren was on the edge of her seat. She had never heard this story; all she knew was his engagement broke up. "And what she say?" She asked. 

"She left." He smiled. 

"She left?" Maren repeated. 

"Yup...told me I was basically selfish and she couldn't believe I was doing this so close to the wedding. She went out with friends that night and left me by myself." Brian continued. He saw the bewildered look on his girlfriends face and laughed, "Oh wait it gets better." He said. "So I'm home depressed and alone when the phone rings. It's her and instead of apologizing and telling me it's all gonna be okay she asked me to go out and grab some bagels for breakfast." 

"What?!" Maren's exclaimed getting the attention from a couple other tables nearby. "Sorry." She embarrassingly apologized when she realized how loud she was. 

"Later on she gets home from the bar and we go to bed. She's fast asleep but I'm awake and getting more and more angry with each passing minute. Finally I get up and leave." He went on. 

"Where'd you go?" Maren asked. 

"Walked around for awhile then ended up at a friend's house early in the morning. It was then I decided this wasn't the life for me and I needed to take care of myself before anything else. We talked the next morning and I just unleashed on her. From that moment on, we were finished. Guess after that I shut down and put up walls to prevent myself from getting hurt again. It was then I started working on myself." 

"Is that when you joined the fire department?" Maren asked. 

"After a lot of soul searching I decided I needed to do something with my life that meant something. I looked into the fire academy and the started training like crazy." He answered. 

"I just can't believe you poured your heart out to the person you were supposed to spend the rest of your life with and she didn't give a shit." Maren stated feeling so disgusted by this woman. 

Brian smiled at the nasty look on Maren's face, "You had to know her." 

"No, no I don't have to know her." Maren countered. 

Brian wanted to laugh but held it in. Maren was having the same attitude towards his ex that he had towards that Jason asshole. Already they were deeply protective over one another. A feeling he didn't know if he had ever had for a woman. 

"So where is she now?" Maren asked. 

"You'll love this part." Brian smiled. 

"Oh god I'm afraid to ask now." Maren groaned. 

"6 months after we broke up, she was engaged to that guy she was on the cruise with. Last I heard they're still married with a couple kids." He answered. 

"Oh for fuck's sakes." Maren rolled her eyes. 

Brian bursted out laughing. "That's how I felt for a long time. Now I look back and am thankful. Getting married would have been a mistake." 

"And that's why you think romance is a sham?" She asked. 

"That's why I thought romance was a sham...recently some sexy woman has been changing my mind on a lot of things." He winked taking a sip of his beer and squeezing her hand lovingly. 

Maren squeezed his hand back and smiled. Brian had certainly been the poster boy for romance lately and she was loving every minute of it. She just hoped it would last.


	28. My Rebounds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co-written with Hopedanglesonastring

The trip was winding down, and the uneasy-ness was settling in. Tomorrow was their last full day in the Keys, and the look on Maren’s face must have given it away.

“Hey” Brian said in a soft voice which brought Maren back to the current moment. He squeezed her hand and she brought her eyes to his.

Clearing her throat, she stared off, “I’m scared to go back.” 

Brian shrugged. “I’m sure you have a ton of emails. We both probably do. We work too much.” He said and laughed. 

Maren realized he didn’t understand what she meant. She nodded. “That we do. But I meant ..” she looked in Brian’s eyes. “I’m scared that our lives, our jobs.. the fans..” she shook her head and looked away. “ I kinda don’t want to go back to it all.” Her eyes got wide and she turned to him, matter of facty, “I mean let’s just buy one of these adorable little cottages, and own some chickens and just never go back. We can change our names and just own scooters never put on like adult business clothes again.” she said with a twinkle in her eye as if she figured it all about. 

Brian smiled lovingly at her. She was adorable when she got flustered and excited all at the same time. It meant she was nervous because she was laying her heart out on the line. He wondered if he would always be surprised by how wrong he was about her. He squeezed her hand again. “Maren, I know this is all a lot. It is for the both of us,” now he looked away as the waiter came and cleared the table. Brian asked for the check. 

Maren shrugged and looked slightly defeated. “So, no chickens??” Even though she knew this was completely out of the question and she only said it half serious, the knots in her stomach at the thought of them going back to New York sunk back in. 

He laughed at her comment, then turned serious again. “Do you wanna know the moment I knew I loved you?”

Maren got goosebumps at the sound of his voice saying that sentence. Her eyes grew big and she could feel her cheeks become red. Yet again, this man was completely able to relax her. No longer thinking about life when they leave this 4 mile wide x 1 mile long island. And of course, he continued to surprise her. She too wondered if she was always gonna be surprised by how wrong she was about him.

Even though he had already said the words she never heard a man say before first, I love you, he managed to one up that moment, by realizing the moment it happened. That’s some fairytale shit. Brian didn’t believe in fairytale shit. 

She narrowed her curious eyes at him, “That sounded like some fairytale shit Quinn.. and you know, I distinctly remember you telling someone they shouldn’t believe in fairytale shit!” Maren said throwing her napkin at him.

Brian’s smile grew devious and his eyebrows hit the ceiling. He shrugged, “Oh yeah, is that right?! Oh ok.. well that’s fine Mar. I know you aren’t dying to know or anything,” he joked flinging his balled up linen napkin right back at her.

“Aww... Bri.. no I was kidding. Tell me!!” She laughed giving him pleading puppy dog eyes.

Brian shook his head. “Nah. Put those gems away. I’m definitely not tellin you now.” He said as he gestured towards her eyes, then stood up and picked her up and flung her over his shoulder. 

“Oh my god Brian stop we’re in a restaurant,” she said banging on his back. She was half embarrassed and half giddy at how much fun she was having. It wasn’t a super fancy restaurant and it wasn’t crowded at all but Brian didn’t seem to care. Maren was worried though that she was flashing her butt to the other diners out on the balcony overlooking the water.

He shook his head and continued to walk out of the restaurant, “I know we are, but what are we gonna do with that mouth of yours. I mean, Maren you really need to learn that just cause you hang around 4 comedians all day, doesn’t make you one.” He said as he finally put her down once they were outside the restaurant.

Maren giggles as she regained her footing on the ground. She looked him in his eyes and leaned in placing her lips on his. She ran her hand down the front of his chest an then lower,over her second favorite part of this mans body. When she came up for air, she asked seductively, “Tell me” as she continued playing with his bottom lip with her mouth.

Brian lifted one hand to cup her face, she closed her eyes and leaned into his hand. She sighed and let out a little whimper. She opened her eyes as he leaned in closer to her face. He went to lean in for a kiss, “Nope” he said as he took his hand off her face and started laughing. 

Maren laughed and rolled her eyes. She smacked him with her clutch as he grabbed her hand and started to walk down towards the main square. “Dick.”

Brian laughed and kissed her cheek. “You love me.”   
Maren shrugged. “Maybe?!l” she said and they both continued to laugh. Brian leaned in and put his arm around her. 

It was only a few blocks before they saw the water and a wide open town square filled with tables with crafts and jewelry people were selling and street performers. It was a site to see. The sun gently setting cast a beautiful glow over everything.

“What is this?” Maren asked amused as she spun around to look at all the fun things going on around them.

Brian raised his arms up as if he was presenting and said “This is Mallory Square.”

Maren let out a chuckle.“Wait.. Mallory?!?” 

Brian nodded, “Yep, the irony isn’t lost on me. Trust me.” he said with a grin.

Maren always knew her name. He didn’t have to say it while he recounted the story at dinner. Mallory was his fiancés name. 

“So does this go on every night?” Maren asked looking around. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed people gathered around a man who had just swallowed a sword. 

Brian nodded. “Yep, just another quirk of this island. Remember how this morning we saw the sunrise? Well from Mallory Square, since it’s on the other side of the island, you can see the sun set. Amazing right?”

“Wow..” she said breathlessly. It really took her a minute to realize how special something like that was. “Brian we watched the sunrise this morning and in the same day we are watching the sunset. That’s absolutely amazing.” She had no words as she looked around and then stared out at the ocean as the sun dipped slowly below the horizon a million miles away from where they stood. 

He came up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her waist. “You’re the only person I’ve ever done this with. No one else I would have rather it been with either.” he whispered as he gently placed little kisses along her neck. 

She closed her eyes, and tried to take it all in. The smell of the ocean, his warm breath against her neck, the way his arms felt wrapped around her tightly. Brian’s scent she became so familiar with, that it was now a part of her, like a tattoo. For once, her mind wasn’t racing a mile a minute. She was living in this moment, with a man that truly loved her. 

“ I want to live in this moment forever.” she said softly as he rested his chin on top of her head.

“Me too Maren, me too.”  
_____________________________________________

Kelsey’s door flew open frantically as she stepped into the hallway and looked around the office quickly. 

“Joe,” she called out. Walking up the hallway towards his office.

“Yep, I’m in here.”” he said from his office. 

Kelsey walked in and shut the door. “Oh thank God you’re here.”

Joe looked up from his computer and noticed Kelsey looked pale and frazzled. “What’s wrong?” his voice turned serious.

Kelsey started at him, not knowing if she should tell him. “Do you know where Brian is?”

Joe shook his head but looked at her inquisitely “No. just mentioned he was going to take some time off. Get off the grid and recharge. Why? Kelsey what’s going on?” 

Kelsey didn’t want to alarm Joe, but at the same time, Joe was known to be the unofficial leader amongst the Tenderloins. The voice of reason.

“Do you know where Maren is?” Kelsey asked wondering if she was the only one that put two and two together.

Joe was back to typing on his computer and shook his head. “Didn’t she say he was going out of town too?” 

Joe then stopped typing and looked up at Kelsey.  
“Do you think? No! Really?” Joe wasn’t sure what to   
believe, but Bessy did fill him in all about the dress and how smitten Maren was acting at the benefit.

Kelsey just nodded slightly and hung her head in her hands.

Joe shook his head not understanding, “Wait,” Joe began confused. “Isn’t this a good thing?!”

Kelsey let out a sigh and stood up. “Come with me”.

Joe followed Kelsey into her office and sat down. Kelsey moved the computer monitor arojnd so Joe could see it from where he was sitting.

Before Kelsey pressed played, she looked him and in a stern voice said, “This doesn’t leave this room Joe, do you understand?”

“Kelsey what the hell is going on?!” he was becoming incredibly nervous. Kelsey was always a complete professional but Joe had never seen her so off kilter as she was right now.

“This was delivered Sunday after the benefit here to the office anonymously. A courier left it with the front desk security.” 

Kelsey pressed play and looked over at Joe. There was no audio, just video. Kelsey had seen it several times now, each time she played it she hoped it wasn’t real. That it was a mistake.. She watched Joe’s face, waiting for a reaction.

Joes eyes grew wide and his mouth was opened wide in shock. “Oh my god.”

 

_____________________________________________  
Brian and Maren wandered around Mallory Square for a little while.

Sipping on adult beverages, they cheered on several street performer acts, one guy who was riding a unicycle across a high wire the length of the square, fire jugglers, breakdancers and Brian’s favorite, which consisted of cats jumping through hula hoops set on fire. Only after he had made sure that the cats were actually in no harm whatsoever.

We stood far away from the mime though, even after I suggested we get pictures with him.

“I’m beginning to think you have a death wish!” Brian grabbed her ass hard and kissed the side of her face.

Maren giggled and shrugged. “I do find myself rather funny.” She said matter of factly.

Brian nodded, “I see that. You’re the only one btw” he playfully tickled her as she wiggled away. “Honesty I think you have kinda been a naughty girl tonight and I think something should be done about that,” his eyes turned serious and his voice became husky.

Maren bit her bottom lip and raised an eyebrow towards him. “Is that so, Mr. Quinn. Hmm.” Maren said seductively.

“Yeah, I mean this mouth of yours... think my baby needs to learn a lesson tonight,” he said leaning down and cupping her ass tight as he assaulted her mouth with his lips and tongue.

“‘Mmm,” Maren moaned as she leaned into the kiss. Her nipples were growing hard and she could feel herself becoming wet.

Maren broke away, out of breath. “Babe, why don’t you take a cab back to the hotel, I wanna run to the drug store around the corner for a few things. Meet you back at the hotel?” 

Brian looked at her and furrowed his brow, “I’ll go with you babe. No worries.” 

Maren shook her head no. “Why don’t you go back to the room and order us some drinks. Take a shower and relax. I’ll be there soon!” She kissed his check and he nodded.

Brian relented and gave in. “Ok. Hey. Be careful. Take my card.” he said handing her his credit card.

“Babe I don’t need it.” Maren said refusing to take it. 

Brian shook his head and chuckled, “Man you are so stubborn. Take it” he said louder, pushing the card in her hand.

Maren took it and slide it in her purse. “Takes one to know one!” she said as she stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

“Oh you’re SO in for it when you get back to the room..” he said as she walked away. 

 

Maren turned around and winked, “ Promise?”

Brian snickered to himself as he rubbed the back of her head. He watched her walk away .“How did I get so lucky” he said to himself shaking his head. Getting in the taxi, Maren watched him finally drive away.

She had no plans to go to the drug store, instead something in the window of a shop they had passed caught her eye.

_________________________________________

About 35 minutes later, Maren walked through the door of their condo. She could see from the kitchen that Brian was out at the guests only bar, so she had to be fast.

Quickly she darted around the room and lit the 3 candles she bought. She glanced out towards the bar and noticed he was now engaged in a conversation with the bartender. She grabbed her phone and texted him, even though she could see him.

“Hey babe, heading back to the room now” 

She watched him look as his phone, type a response and then look back up to the bartender.

“No rush babe. I’m outside talking to the bartender. He’s a cool guy. Let me know when you’re back, I’ll bring us in the drinks.”

Score! This bought her some time. Quickly she rushed into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She scrubbed down real quick and slide into the slinky little lingerie set she bought.

Maren hadn’t worn sexy lingerie since she was in her 20’s and she was worried for a slight second that Brian might not like it. However, she couldn’t pass it up when she saw it in the window. It was almost a sign.

Quickly she looked in the mirror and fixed her hair and makeup. Stepping back she looked at herself in the mirror. “Not bad Mulligan,” she whispered to herself.

It was no secret that Brian wasn’t a fan of spiders. However she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to troll him with the sexy bra and panty set she saw as they passed one of several sex shops in Key West. The bra was black lace, and covering each breast was a crystal and silk spider, strategically placed to leave just enough to imagination. Of course she got the matching string thong, which had the same crystal and silk spider barely covering Brian’s favorite part of her body.

She lowered the lights in the room, letting the candlelight take over and grabbed her phone to let him know she was back in the room. Panicking she looked around. Sexy wasn’t her ‘thing’ so she wasn’t sure what to do? Stand there so he sees her when he first walks in? Lay seductively on the bed? That made her chuckle cause she couldn’t imagine doing anything seductively. Quickly she ran back into the bathroom and decided to put on a robe.

Just then the sliding doors opened and Brian walked in with 2 drinks. He immediately noticed the candles and smiled as he handed her a drink and kissed her cheek.

“Candles. Ooh. Look at you, fairytale girl” he winked at her. She stuck her tongue out at him. “I’m kidding babe, it’s perfect. Here, let’s have a toast” he said handing her her drink. “Cheers!” He said as they both toasted and took a sip from their glasses.

“Now.. let’s get you out of this robe,” he growled as he began untying the front straps, kissing her deeply and passionately as the robe fell gently off her shoulders and on to the floor. Fully expecting to see her naked, when he felt lace on her breasts he pulled away from her mouth and she stood back so he could take her in.

Brian had a lust for her in his eyes she hasn’t seen before. A huge grin broke out across his face. 

“Spiders, huh,” he said with a sly smile and a laugh.

Maren returned the same smile, “Heard you’re a fan!” she said shrugging it off.

Brian shook his head. This woman was going to be the end of him. “You’re in soo much trouble” he said as he lunged towards Maren and started tickling her

“No tickling QUINN” she shouted between laughs, as he threw her on the bed. He layed down on top of her, and became to kiss her deep and hard.

“I love you” she whispered, as he sat up and took off off his shirt, his eyes never leaving hers. She reached up and ran her fingers through his chest. 

“I love you,” he said as he began running his mouth over her breasts. She wiggled underneath him in pleasure, as he moved his hands down between her legs. Maren’s breathing became heavy as he ripped off the panties and spread her knees. 

“Baby,” she whimpered as his tongue gently licked her core up and down in long strokes, as if he was eating an ice cream cone. Slowly.. and then quicker and deliberately. 

Maren’s entire body was covered with goosebumps from this mans touch. She whimpered in joy. 

Brian continue licking her but came up for air to see the look on her face. He loved hearing the way she whimpered but he really loved seeing the look on her face. Maren had already told him that she hadn’t ever really had an orgasm before, so knowing he was able to make this woman come undone wasn’t lost on him. She was raw and vulnerable. It made him love her even more. 

“Brian fuck me baby, please. I need you. I need you inside of me,” she pleaded quietly, her breath heavy.

“Patience baby. I mean.. you kinda misbehaved today, with your snarky little comments.. and I mean..Spider lingerie? Tsk Tsk “ he teased as he continue to lick her pussy like a lollipop. Changing up his rhythm, he began sucking on her core.

Maren cried out in pleasure, as she ran her hands through Brian’s hair. “Uh uh.. no touching Maren. I only get to touch right now. In fact, I think maybe we should tie up your hands.” Maren’s nipples instantly became hard. She loved when he became like this . Hungry for her.

“Well its a good thing I bought handcuffs then too huh,” she said with a wink.

Brian’s face lit up. “You didn’t?!?”

Maren nodded, “Oh I did,” she nodded to the other side of the room where a candle was lit. A pair of red fuzzy handcuffs sat next to it.

Brian shook his head. He couldn’t believe this woman. “Oh Maren...” he said as he brought both of her arms over her head and handcuffed her.

“Be gentle,” she said looking up to him, asking sincerely. She and Jason used handcuffs before and it always made her slightly nervous, not being in control. However she knew Brian was nothing like Jason. Something she realized more and more every day.

“Baby, anytime you want me to stop, you say so. You’re safe.” He said and kissed her forehead. She nodded and smiled knowing she trusted him.

“Now where was I? Oh that’s right.. down here.. “ he said as he trailed two fingers between her legs and gently plunged them into her. Maren bucked from the sensation.

“Yes baby.. you’re so wet. I love that you get so wet for me,” Brian said gently moving his fingers deeper inside her.

Maren wiggled and breathed deeply. Brian lowered his head down and vigorously became flicking her clit between his tongue and teeth.

“Aah.. Brian!!” she screamed out in pleasure. Their eyes met each others. Maren panting heavily, with so much lust in her eyes. She saw the same in his eyes. Lust and need. These two needed each other.

“Baby please.. fuck me.” Maren whimpered again.

“Soon” he said as he moved his way back up towards her breasts. He jumped up from the bed quickly and grabbed an ice cube from his drink. He leaned back down over Maren, and gently rubbed one of the ice cubes over her left nipples.

“Aah. Oh my god.. Brian. Baby. That feels so good. Oh.. my.. baby,” Maren said wiggling around in ecstasy.

“Yeah baby that feel good?! Do you like that?” Brian whispered as he moved the ice cube to her right nipple.

“Aah. Fuck. Baby. I can’t take much more. Please. Please fuck me. I need you inside” she said whimpering. Puppy dog eyes on full display.

Brian loved that whimper, but he was enjoying bringing her to the brink and then stopping.

“Now Maren... like i said, you need to be taught a lesson. So, I’m gonna teach you that lesson, baby. Relax. Enjoy yourself. Let me make you feel good. He said as he softly placed kisses across her belly. The coolness of the ice cubes across her nipples felt amazing. As they melted, the water dripped down her stomach, Brian took his tongue and licked it all up.

“Baby please.. fuck me.” Maren couldn’t take much more. He wanted to be inside her too, but he was also enjoying how her body was putty in his hands.

“Soon Baby, Patience..” he said as he raised her legs in the air and began kissing inside her thighs. Maren flailed as this was a highly sensitive part of her body and his placing gentle kisses there made her lose what little control she said.

“Brian I’m coming..” she cried out grabbing what she could of bed.

“Come for me baby.. I want to taste you” he said as he stuck his fingers back deep inside her, and licked her sweetness up.

Maren was out of breath. This man drove her crazy. He wanted to make her feel good and she hoped this next thing wouldn’t freak him out, but it was something she had definitely enjoyed before.

“Baby” Maren said silently.

Brian was busy ravaging her breasts in his mouth. “Hmm” he managed to get out.

“The candle.. grab it.”

He looked up at her with an eye brow raised. “I bought it from the sex store. It’s safe. You pour a little on my body and it turns into massage oil. Do it.”

Brians eyes grew wide as he shook his head in amazement. This woman didn’t cease to amaze him. He reached over for the candle. “Are you sure?” He said concerned.

“Baby I’ve done it before.. please. Pour a little on my stomach.. then massage it in.”

Brian was already hard, but this was pushing him to his edge. He was so ridiculously turned on by this woman and was so happy that she trusted and let him in.

Brian took the candle and gently poured a little of the hot wax on to her stomach. 

Maren instantly let out a moan that was both pleasure and pain. She bucked her body softly off the bed and moaned some more.

“Oh god baby..” Brian said as he rubbed both of his hands in the wax, which turned to oil as soon as he touched it. He rubbed the oil up across both of her ample breasts and then down around her hips. 

Maren couldn’t stay still. The sensation of the wax, and this mans strong hands caressing her whole body. Maren was done playing. She needed Brian Quinn to fuck her.

“Baby..I’m begging you...” her voice trailed off softly.

Brian kissed her mouth passionately, as he reached above their heads and undid the handcuffs. Her hands quickly wrapped around his strong arms that where holding him up over her.

He broke free from the kiss for a moment, and looked in her eyes. “I love you Maren Mulligan” he said before he gently entered her and slowly began to rock back and forth on top of her.

 

Maren moaned slowly into his mouth when he entered her. She wanted to feel every inch of him.  
“Brian.. you feel so good. Go slow.. I want to feel every bit of you”

Brian’s breathing picked up as he moved slowly in and out of Maren, who’s eyes kept rolling back every time Brian thrust forward.

Her fingers dug into his back as he brought one of her legs over his shoulder.

“Oh god baby.. I’m going to come” Maren whispered. Even though he was being slow and gentle, he knew exactly the spot hit, and the feeling of him going slow was just too much to take. 

“Maren come for me baby.... I’m here. I’ve got you.” Brian whispered sweetly as he kissed the side of her head, thrusting in and out slowly, passionately.

Tears escaped her eyes as she let herself go. Her toes curled and her back arched high off the bed. “Baby..” she cried out.. “Brian” 

Brian felt every muscle tense up around him as she released all over him. He watched as her face turned flush and she shaked gently from the intensity going through her body.

Knowing he was the cause of the intense pleasure she was feeling, his release wasn’t far behind.

His breathing became heavy as Maren reached up and cupped his face, “I’m all yours baby.. come for me.” He looked in her eyes and with that he couldn’t contain himself anymore. He shook as he released and gently layed down his body on top of Maren’s.. he rested his head on her breasts and wrapped his arms under her body.

They were both breathing heavily, and Maren was running her fingers through his hair.

“It was when I found you on the floor in your room, having a panic attack. I wanted to be the person to make sure you never experience pain like that again.” he said as he laid on top of her, arms wrapped underneath her.

A small smile spread across Maren’s lips as tears formed in her eyes. For years, she chased happiness, through one night stands, and shitty relationships, and dealing with her father leaving and of course Jason. However in the moment she knew, she had found her happy, and it was in the arms of Brian Quinn.


	29. My Earthquakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cowritten with Hopedanglesonastring

"Quit pouting." Brian laughed running his hand over her head messing up her hair. 

Maren batted his hand away and quickly smoothed out her now frizzy hair. She stuck her bottom lip out, "I don't wanna go home." She whined. 

"Me neither." He agreed taking his seat next to her on the plane. 

"Promise me something?" She asked.

"What's that?" He responded. 

"I don't know what's gonna happen when we go home but just promise we won't lose these last few days?" She said. 

"Wouldn't dream of it." He answered leaning over for a kiss.   
________________________________  
Maren replayed that conversation in her head all morning as she got ready for the day. She was back in New York; waking up in her apartment alone which was certainly no fun. She missed the warm breeze coming through the window, the smell of the salt water, but most importantly a certain Staten Island boy cuddled up close. Before this experience she would have never pegged Brian as a big cuddler . Boy was she wrong. Every night when they were down Key West she would occasionally wake up in the middle of the night and feel Brian with his arms tightly wrapped around her softly snoring in her ear. Even though she teased him about his snoring, to her it was the most adorable sound in the whole world. 

Maren had a lot of stuff to catch up on for work so she figured her best bet would be to head into the office and work from there. Plus she had some weird messages from Kelsey so she could talk to her there as well. Maren just wasn't ready to leave her little bubble just yet and return to reality. However there was one phone call she would answer right now. She smiled when she saw Brian's name come across her phone. 

"Good morning." She purred into the phone. 

"Don't you sound chipper this morning." He replied. 

"Why wouldn't I be? Just spent three relax full days with a pretty handsome stud." She smiled. 

"Handsome stud, huh?" Brian teased, "Do I have to kick someone's ass? Don't like guys touching what's mine." He growled. 

Hearing Brian call her his still sent shivers down her spine. She could definitely stay on this cloud forever.   
________________________________  
Maren had been in her office for about an hour now and her headache had already returned. Managing the schedule of four different people was no easy task. As she was trying to add new dates to their tour, she had to keep in mind IJ tapings, work commitments for the network, Sal's solo standup schedule, Murray's book signings, anti bullying events Joe was hosting, and Tell Em Steve Dave commitments that Brian had going on. Anytime she found an opening she thought would work, one of the guys was already booked for something. 

Maren took a second and shut her eyes to collect herself. God she missed that beach right about now. "Nice tan." She suddenly heard her favorite voice say. When she opened her eyes she laid eyes on her man. She smiled at the comment and little game he was playing. "Just get back from the beach?" He asked playing stupid. 

"Haha, very funny." She responded. They were still in agreement to keep this to themselves for awhile. 

"What's wrong?" Brian asked sensing her stress. He walked behind the desk and started rubbing her shoulders to relieve some of the tension she obviously had. 

Maren knew this looked bad if anyone walked by but it was still early and no one was around. Plus He was making her feel better right now. She moaned as his strong hands worked the kinks from her neck and shoulders. "You all have such packed schedules it's impossible to get new tour dates going." She said as Brian continued massaging her. 

"Tell me about it." He responded, "That's why I'm happy we had a chance to get away, not sure when we will get to again anytime soon." 

"How committed are you to this pinball thing with Bryan Johnson next month?" She asked clinking through the main calendar she had up on her computer screen that included all four jokers. 

"Pretty set in stone. They already have me listed as hosting it. Too late to back out." He answered. "Plus it's a lot of fun, you should come with me." 

"We'll see." She sighed. 

"Hey, come on. It will all work out, it always does." Brian said swinging her chair around so she was now facing him. "Stop stressing out." 

"I know." She sighed, "It's just Simmy emailed saying that the network wants you guys touring more since it helps the show's popularity but then they have you guys all over the place with press that it leaves no room and I don't know...." 

Brian leaned down capturing her lips to silence her. Maren opened her mouth immediately and shared a long wet kiss. "Deep breaths babe." He whispered when they finally broke apart. Kissing each other was like a drug to them and now that they had their first taste of one another today, they immediately came together again. Without breaking apart, Brian lifted her up sitting her on top of her desk. "Let's relieve some of this tension." He whispered as he brought his hands down her body. 

"Shit." Maren muttered under her breath. This man could  make her want to do anything. 

"God I love when you wear skirts, makes things so easy for me." He said then leaned down to kiss her neck. 

Maren had gone for a more professional look today and decided on a black pencil skirt with a buttoned down white blouse. Brian had already tossed her matching black blazer to the floor and was not sliding his hand up her skirt. She held onto his neck and moaned out as quietly as she could when she felt two of his fingers enter her. Brian bent back so he could look in her eyes and smirked his bad boy expression when he saw his girl moaning in pleasure. "Harder baby." She begged. 

"Oh yeah...my baby likes it hard huh?" He responded in a harsh whisper. 

"Fuck Brian you're gonna make me cum." She whined still not believing this was actually happening right now. 

"Told you that you needed to relax." He said still pounding his fingers deep into her wetness. "Mmm...so wet Maren." Once he flicked his thumb over her clit a couple more times she completely let go. 

"Jesus Christ." She said breathing heavily. 

Brian smiled wickedly as he removed his fingers and inserted them in his mouth. "Mmm...so fucking tasty." He said licking them clean. 

Maren was still trying to get her heart rate back to normal and Brian looked on as her chest went up and down as she caught her breath. "You just finger banged me in the middle of my office." She said in complete shock. 

Brian laughed at her statement, "Yeah and you're gonna have to get used to it because I might have to come down here more often in the middle of the day." 

"You're so bad!" She giggled pulling at his shirt so she could kiss him so more. Brian instantly had his hands in her hair at the base of her neck kissing her passionately until they heard someone behind them clearing their throat. 

"How nice of you both to finally join us from your little getaway." Kelsey interrupted sarcastically. 

Brian pulled away and Maren just stared at her best friend in complete shock. "How did you figure out we..." She began to question. 

"Went away together?" Kelsey finished for her. "Both of you go completely off the map at the same time, didn't take a brain surgeon to figure it out. But to not even check your phones once?!" She exclaimed. 

"We wanted to just get away. Be by ourselves for a few days." Maren explained not understanding what Kelsey was so pissed about. After-all She was the one who seemed to be rooting for the two to get together. 

"Did anyone else put two and two together?" Brian asked. 

Kelsey rolled her eyes, "As much as I love them, those friends of yours aren't too bright." Besides Joe, Kelsey hadn't spoken to anyone about Brian and Maren being MIA. 

"Good, because we just want to keep this to ourselves for a little bit. It's still really new." Maren explained. 

"Well unfortunately that may not be possible." Kelsey said turning on her heals and leaving Maren's office to head next door to her own. 

"What are you talking about?!" Maren yelled after her. 

"Follow me!" They heard Kelsey shout from the other side of the wall. Brian and Maren exchanges confused looks but did as they were instructed and went into Kelsey's office. 

They looked on as Kelsey clicked a couple times on her computer and then turned the screen so the couple could see. 

"Oh my god." Maren whispered in horror; eyes bulged out of their sockets. 

"Where did you get this?!" Brian exclaimed. 

"New York Post sent it over a couple days ago for a comment, which of course I didn't give them. I was trying to give the two of you a heads up before the story gets published today but since neither one of you would answer the phone I didn't get the chance to! Portions of the video footage are going up on their website at noon. The entire world is going to get to watch Q and his tour manager having sex in an elevator and there's not a damn thing anyone of us can do to stop it." Kelsey scolded. 

Brian couldn't watch anymore and flipped the computer screen back around. Maren had tears of embarrassment pooling in her eyes that  were ready to fall at any moment. 

"I have a meeting with the heads of the network this morning to discuss how they want to handle this." Kelsey continued on. 

"This has nothing to do with the network, this is our lives!" Brian yelled. 

Kelsey whipped around at the sudden attitude she was getting, "Like it or not, you are a major part of this network and also an established brand that TruTv has put a lot of money into! Any decision that you make, positive or negative, effects the entire network Q! So while you guys were off having the time of your lives, I'm back here trying to clean up your mess!"

She looked over at Maren. The best friend side of her was concerned for her friend and hated to see her so upset but the business side of Kelsey had a job to do and was beyond pissed that she was now in this position. "I got a conference call in 5 minutes, I'll talk to you both later on." She said giving them to cue to exit her office.


	30. Even In My Worst Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co written with Hopedanglesonastring

Maren's head was spinning. 'This can't be happening' she thought as she heard her office door slam. 'This can't be happening.' The blood rushed from her face, as she raised her now sweaty palms to her face. Maren started shaking her head no quickly.

Brian's calm, reassuring voice and firm grip on her two arms brought her back to the moment. "Hey hey.. Maren. Relax,” he gently said. She hadn’t noticed her breathing picked up, but he did. 

"Breathe. Take a deep breathe," he instructed as he cupped her face in his palm, hoping it would calm her down.

Maren took a few deep breathes as she sat down at her desk. “What time is it?!" she asked frantically looking around, her eyes finally stopping at the clock on the wall. It was still early morning. "What are we gonna do? We have to get out ahead of this? Oh my god Brian, your mom.." Maren quickly starting grabbing papers off her desk and scrolling through her computer.

Brian shook his head, "Maren, Maren. Relax. There's nothing we can do," he said reaching across her desk and grabbing her hands. "Kelsey will handle it. We're going to have to see what the network says."

Tears trickled down Maren's face. "God Brian, the charity could drop you guys. This happened at their event!" Maren placed her head in her hands. The magnitude of this was just beginning to take its course. "Oh my god Brian, can the hotel could press charges?!" Maren nervously asked, looking up at him.

Brians head pounded as he flopped down on the small couch Maren had in her office. This definitely was unchartered territory for him. While Maren was completely nervous and thinking the worst, Brian was seething mad but had to remain calm. Maren could have a panic attack any minute and he had no desire to see the woman he loved in such a state. Speaking slowly, Brian rubbed his temples with his fingers, eyes shut and said,” Do you think Jason did this?" Choosing his words carefully, he tried hard to hide the disdain he was afraid would come across in his voice.

Maren was holding her head in her hands, elbows on the desk. Absolutely defeated, she responded, "I have no idea,” but until Brian said his name, Jason hadn’t even crossed her mind. Jason. Oh my god. Maren thought to herself as she felt her stomach churn. Quickly standing up, she grabbed her purse and came out from behind her desk. “I have to get out of here Brian. I need some air. I’m gonna head home.” 

Brian jumped to his feet, “I’ll go with you,” he said as they made their way to the door. 

Maren shook her head no and placed her hand on his chest. “Brian, it’s ok. I’ll be ok. Call your mom. Give her a heads up.”

Brian took a deep breath, worried to leave Maren by herself, “Are you sure?” he asked tilting her chin up so he could look in her eyes. Brian’s heart sunk a little when he saw the fear in Maren’s eyes. 

Maren nodded, “Yes, I’ll call you as soon as I get home, ok,” she leaned into him as he brought up his arms and enveloped her in his arms.  
“We’ll get through this Mar, I promise you, ok?” he kissed her forehead and closed his eyes.   
________________________________

"Hi Honey, this is a pleasant surprise!" Carol Quinn heard from her son less and less these days the bigger the show became. The middle Quinn son was a busy guy and she understood. Still, the midweek afternoon call didn't seem to strike her as odd. That is until she heard the nervousness in his voice.

"Hi Mom..." was all he said, but Momma Quinn knew her son well, and something was wrong.

"Brian honey, what's going on? Are you ok?" she asked slight panic setting in.

Brian closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Never had it ever crossed his mind that he would have to be having this conversation with his mom. Unsure of even how to put it, he sighed and started, "I'm Ok mom, everything's going to be ok. I just need to make you aware of some bad press that is going to be released today." 

Carol breathed a sign of relief that her son wasn't injured and in no physical harm. "Bad Press, Sweetie? What do you mean Bri?" she asked curiously. Something wasn't sitting right with Mrs. Quinn.

"Ma, it's not good."  
________________________________

Maren wasn't entirely sure how she made it back to her apartment, but as she sat wrapped in a towel on her bed, she replayed the last 2 hours over in her head. Fight or Flight kicked in and just as always, she took flight. Leaving the office and Brian behind, she needed to be alone. She needed to be away from the outside world. When she got home, she stripped off all her clothes and laid in the shower, crying as the warm water tried to wash away the sorrow.

The buzzing of her cellphone broke her from her despair. She looked down at her cellphone and saw a text from Kelsey.

Maren, are you ok? 

Maren took a few deep breaths in between tears and responded, Is this PR Kelsey asking or is this best friend Kelsey asking?

Kelsey’s text came back quickly, Maren, this isn't easy for me either, ok. Come back to the office. Let's talk.

Maren took a deep breathe and laid back on her bed. She noticed her suitcase still packed from their trip. Less than 24 hours ago, life was perfect. Maren shook her head, "we should have never came back" she said under her breath.  
________________________________

It was mid morning now and the TruTv office was alive with employees who knew nothing of how crazy their day was about to get. Brian walked around the office, looking for Joe. He plastered a fake smile on his face as interns and co workers said “Good Morning,” as he walked by. 

“Hey.. either of you seen Joe yet this morning?” Brian questioned Cha and Casey as he passed where they were converged at. 

Cha looked up at him, “I last saw him with Murr by the kitchen.” Her eyes zeroed in on his and immediately she knew something was up. “Q... what’s going on man.. you don’t look ok” Cha said her eyes never leaving his.

Guilt washed over Brian. Some of these people were more than employees, they were family and the consequences of what was happening were going to affect them too. It was just now hitting him. He shook his head, “Nothing Cha. I just gotta talk to Joe. I’ll see you guys later,” he said as he walked towards the kitchen.

Rounding the corner, Joe was coming out of the kitchen just as Brian was ready to walk in. The two lifelong friends stopped in front of one another. All it took was one look at Joe and Brian knew he was already aware. 

“There he is,” Joe pronounced with a mild disappointment that Brian quickly picked up on.

Brian nodded and looked down, “You didn’t tell the others yet, did you?”

Joe shook his head no and motioned towards his office. “Not my place to tell them. It’s yours.”  
Brian followed Joe down the hall, into his office and closed the door.

Joe hadn’t even sat down at his desk yet before he started in on Brian, “What the hell were you thinking?!” 

Brian laid back on the couch. “I know, Joe,” was all Brian managed to get out. He rubbed his forehead and glanced at his phone to see if Maren had texted. She hadn’t.

“No, I’m not sure you do bud. This is bad. The Network could drop us. The charity could drop us.” Joe didn’t often get angry, but Brian had seen him angry more than he cared too in the past two months. Both times, he and Maren were the reasons behind his wrath.

“I love her Joey,” was all Brian managed to say quietly. The room fell silent, Brian couldn’t bring himself to look over in Joe’s direction. Brian let everyone down and he was beginning to feel the weight of it all.

Joe was much calmer when he finally spoke up again, “That’s great. I’m very happy for you, and for Maren. So where does that leave the rest of us?”

Brian looked at Joe confused, “I’m not following..”

Joe took a sip of his coffee and leaned back in his chair, “Maren works for us. So tell me, what happens the next time you two get into a fight and decide to have a food fight? Or decide to fuck each other in a public place? Or better yet, you two breakup. Then what Brian?! Where does that leave the rest of us?” Joe’s voice grew a little angrier with each sentence he spewed towards his best friend of 25 years.

Brian quickly thought back to the last few days in the Keys. He couldn’t help but wonder if maybe Maren was right. Maybe they shouldn’t have ever left.  
________________________________

“Because you’re not a TruTv employee, you will be unable to attend the meeting I’ll be having with the guys, producers and their agent today.” 

Across the offices, Maren had snuck back in unseen and made her way into Kelsey’s office. She hadn’t even sat down in front of her best friend yet before Kelsey had started speaking. Maren could tell she was in PR mode. 

Maren narrowed her eyebrows and tried not to raise her voice, “This involves me!!”

Kelsey looked up at her, “No, actually it involves Brian Quinn, who has a contract with this Network. Along with 4 of his best friends, and dozens of employees who also work on the show.” Kelsey realized she was becoming increasingly upset and before she went any further stopped herself. This was after all Maren, her best friend, and she knew that she was scared to death. Maren looked on, like a deer caught in headlights. 

Kelsey softened up and continued, “Maren, I know you love him. I know you. I know you both didn’t mean for any of this to happen, but this isn’t good. The Network isn’t happy. “ 

Maren nodded and stood up. “Okay” was all she managed to say dryly as she turned to walk out of Kelsey’s office. 

Kelsey walked around her desk and leaned on the side of it. “Maren, come here,” she said standing up and walking over towards Maren.

Maren turned around and walked back towards Kelsey and into the hug Kelsey reached out towards her for.

“Call your lawyer. Prepare a statement to release through them if you choose,” Kelsey said trying to help her friend.

Maren rolled her eyes, “Why aren’t TruTv’s lawyers going after them?! Why aren’t they filing an injunction from having the tape released?!” Maren cried out in anger.

Kelsey took a deep breathe, “We tried everything, but the paper has a right to publish what they deem newsworthy and a “source” provided them with this tape. They and their source are protected by the first time amendment.” Kelsey was just as frustrated as Maren. 

“It’s time for me to go and meet with everyone. Why don’t you go home and pack a bag, you can come stay with me for a few days. Your place will probably have reporters and paparazzi hanging around.” Kelsey had returned to best friend mode as she walked towards the door.

Maren nodded as she walked towards the office door Kelsey has just opened. Standing on the other side, waiting for her was Brian.

________________________________

Maren and Brian smiled weakly at one another as Maren turned towards her office. Brian began to follow her when Kelsey said “Brian.. we’re due in the conference room.”

Brian nodded, “Two minutes Kelsey.” 

Kelsey nodded and turned towards the conference room. The hallway quickly filled up with other Impractical Jokers employees, some heading towards the conference room also, the buzz in the air about what this meeting is about and how it wasn’t originally scheduled.

Brian followed Maren into her office and closed the door. He quickly walked up to Maren and put his arms around her. “We’ll be ok. It’s gonna be ok.”

Maren didn’t respond, she just nodded. They stood there quietly for a few moments before Brian broke away from her.

“Ok listen. I’m gonna go to this meeting. Why don’t you head home, pack a bag and you can come stay with me for a few days until this all blows over, ok?” Brian said rubbing her arms.

Maren didn’t look at him, she just nodded. 

“Don’t go on the internet, ok. You don’t need to see what anyone is saying. Head on home, I’ll come by and pick you up when this meeting is done, ok?” Brian instructed her and kissed her forehead. It was 11:30 a.m. and by the time the meeting would be over, their world would be changed.  
________________________________

 

Maren left the office and decided to walk the 5 miles home to her apartment. She had hoped the hustle and bustle of the city around her would take her mind off of looking at her cell phone. It was five minutes to 12pm, but by the sounds coming from Maren’s phone, she had a feeling the NY POST pulled the trigger early.

Reaching into her purse, she grabbed her phone to silence it. There were several text messages, and google alerts coming in and as she tried to clear them all, a text from Kelsey popped up that included 2 pictures. Maren stopped dead in her tracks at what she saw. 

The first revealed Maren naked on all fours on a bed, a man leaning over in front of her, kissing her. Another man was behind her, naked. The two men’s faces were blurred, as were Maren’s breasts.   
The second, showed a naked woman straddling a man seated on a couch. It was obvious the second man was taking the picture.

Maren quickly rushed into a nearby alley and threw up. She felt herself slowly begin to panic and started breathing deeply to calm herself down. The panic didn’t last long though, as Maren quickly found herself enraged. Jason. 

Before she knew it Maren hailed a cab and was standing in the lobby of Jason’s office. Pure adrenaline was running through her veins. Maren kept balling her hands in fists to try to calm herself down. She headed towards the elevators when she heard his voice coming walking in to the lobby from outside. Practically running, she rushed up to him and slapped him hard across his face.

“You FUCKING ASSHOLE,” she screamed at the top of her lungs as he turned back around towards her, hand rubbing the bright red cheek on his face.

“YOU’VE RUINED MY FUCKING LIFE. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?!? ALL BECAUSE I WOULDN’T TAKE YOU BACK!” Maren had lost it. She was screaming in his face, and security quickly came up behind her to restrain her. Jason said nothing, he couldn’t even look at her.

“Ma’am, we need you to leave the premise please,” said two huge burly security guards who surrounded her, placing themselves between her and Jason.

Maren wouldn’t take her eyes off of him. She was bright red and breathing quickly through her nose. “You’ll be hearing from my lawyer, you piece of shit.” 

________________________________

The meeting between the Network and the guys came to an end with Brian being the first to hightail it out of the conference room . All he wanted to do at the moment was be with Maren. As he made his way down the hall, he noticed everyone was looking at their computers and phones and there was a faint whisper amongst them all . Looking down, he continued walking, figuring they were all looking at the NY POST story, until one of the cameramen called his name. 

“ Hey Q man.. you HAVE to see this! Your tour manager, Maren. Damn, she’s fine as HELL!” The cameraman, Terrance had a huge grin on his face as he patted Brian on the back, leaning in closer so he could show Brian what he was looking at.

Brian’s heart sunk and his stomach dropped. He blinked a couple times and looked closer at the pictures. “Where did you get this?!” Brian said trying to stifle the anger in his voice, clenching his fists into balls.

Terrance didn’t hear Brian and continued digging himself a hole, “Damn she’s freaky too! A threesome?!? I would TOTALLY hit that!”

And with that, Brian snapped. He grabbed Terrance by his shirt and pushed him up against the wall. “DO NOT EVER speak about her, or look at these pictures again, do you understand me?!” he screamed in Terrance’s face.

By this time the entire office has stopped what they were doing. Sal and Joe quickly were by Brian’s side grabbing him away from Terrance. 

“Bri, I’m sorry man.. I meant no harm.” Terrance said apologetically, smoothing out his shirt and collecting himself as he walked away.

Sal and Joe were holding on to Brian, but he quickly shrugged them off of him. He was still fuming as he dialed Maren’s number on the way out of the TruTv office


	31. You Saw The Truth of Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co written with Hopedanglesonastring

Running was Maren's outlet so after going home quickly to change she took off. Maren ran clear around Manhattan but nothing was clearing her head. She had no idea what transpired in the meeting but on top of that photos from so many years ago were printed across several news outlets. These photos had always been at the back of her mind and she just couldn't believe Jason was that much of a petty asshole to have them published. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and the angrier she became the faster she ran. 

When she got back to her apartment she was completely drenched in sweat. As she stepped off the elevator her heart dropped. "Brian? I thought I was going to your house tonight?" She tried to hug him but was instantly blocked. After looking into his eyes she knew immediately something was wrong. "You know don't you?" She whispered in horror. 

"Let's go inside." Brian said coldly barely making eye contact with her.

Maren fiddled with her keys and even though she was shaking quite a bit, managed to open the door. As she placed her things down on the end table next to the door, she swore she could feel the heat radiating off of Brian. She looked on as he took a seat at the kitchen island; she was too nervous to speak but the silence was killing her even more. "Look, I know you must have seen these photos and..." 

"AND WHAT??" He finally yelled. 

Maren flinched at his outburst. Over the years they had gotten into plenty of fights but never had he yelled at her like this. "Brian I know that you are upset and you have every right to be but this was way before you. I was so young and stupid when these were taken." 

"You know what I think is so ironic?!" He shouted. "For years, all I heard from you is how pathetic I was for living my life my way. How jumping from one hookup to the next was foolish and how I was basically this big fucking man whore. Annnd little did I know that all along you secretly liked to get pounded by two guys at the same time!" 

Maren couldn't believe the words that were coming out of this man's mouth. "Hold on a minute!" She jumped in, her temper now taking over. "These pictures were from when I was twenty fucking two years old. How dare you act like I make this sort of thing a regular occurrence!" 

"Maren, do you have any idea how much I went to bat for you today?! I went into that meeting with my tail between my legs and took the brunt of everything! And now I look like a fucking idiot!" Brian shouted now pacing back and forth like a wild animal in a pen. 

"These photos have nothing to do with you Brian! And never did I ask you to take full responsibility for what happened in that elevator." She defended. 

"Exactly! These pictures have nothing to do with me, so what does it say about you?!" He argued back. 

"It says that I was a young stupid girl that let her boyfriend and his friend take advantage of her!" She exclaimed. "And as someone who spent so much time over the past few days, telling me how much he loves me, you should be in my corner. Not making me feel worse about it all." Maren was so angry tears were starting to build. 

"No! No, absolutely not!" Brian yelled pointing at her face when he saw her begin to cry. " Not this time Maren, I'm not gonna fall for the tears this time." As he continued to pace it was then that something dawned on him. "I asked you before what this asshole could have against you, and you said you didn't know." 

"Because I thought he got rid of them!" She yelled. "He told me years ago he shredded them and didn't have any other copies." 

Oh give me a break!" Brian rolled his eyes. "You know what an asshole this guy is, are you really that stupid!" He spat. "You knew these pictures existed and you lied to me. Maybe if you had clued me in when I originally asked you, I could have done something to stop them." Brian said. 

"Did it ever occur to you that I was embarrassed and didn't want you to judge me on a choice I made over a decade ago?!" She cried out. 

"No I think it's just you knew how much of a fucking hypocrite you would have looked like!" He spat, "And because of that, the whole world, my family, my friends, my job; everyone is gonna see my girlfriend getting fucked by two guys. Great job Maren!" Brian had nothing left to say. He had gotten everything out that had been stewing in his mind for the past couple hours so his presence in this apartment was no longer needed. Maren watched as all her suspicions about Brian came true right in front of her, he broke her heart.  
________________________________  
After crying for a solid hour, Maren knew exactly what she had to do. She had to say goodbye. She opened her laptop and began to type.   
                 Joe, James, Sal, and Brian,   
                 It is with a heavy heart I write   
                 this letter. Please consider this  
                 as my formal resignation        
                 effective immediately. I have  
                 learned so much working on   
                  your team. That is why it both   
                  professionally and personally   
                  hurts me that I have let you  
                  down. The Tenderloins brand   
                  deserves better and I am so  
                   sorry I have let all of you  
                   down. I will make sure any  
                   files I have are sent over   
                   very soon. I wish the four of  
                    you continued success.   
                         All my best,   
                                     Maren.   
Once Maren had finished she contacted a courier and emailed it over to them. She had to make sure this got to the guys today. 

The guys were always very good to her when it came to her salary so she was fortunate to have some savings. She knew she had to get away but the question was where.   
_______________________________  
The last place Brian wanted to be was back at the office. After blowing off some steam though he knew he needed to meet up with the other guys and the show's producers. After this week the show would be running full steam ahead until their big tour at the end of the month in Europe. He was already on thin ice with the network so that's why he was now on his way back of the elevator to the IJ office. 

Joe,Sal, and Murr were still in a state of shock from the meeting and weren’t sure how to react at this point. Their plan was to get through this day and then get together with Q to talk privately away from network executives and attorneys. According to Kelsey Maren hadn't been heard from since this morning. Joe had already called Bessy to try and track her down. 

Brian did his best to pay attention to Pete, the show runner, but it wasn't going well. He was still so mad he felt his blood pressure rising by the minute. Pete had attended the meeting this morning as well and was doing his best to act like nothing was wrong. 

"Excuse me, Joe?." One of the receptionist from downstairs interrupted. "This was just delivered by a courier. Said it was important to bring it directly to the four of you." 

Joe gave her a questioning look but took the envelope. Murray leaned over to get a look at the letter. Once finished reading Joe crumpled it up into a ball throwing it across the table. "She quit!" He yelled in frustration. 

"Who?" Sal asked. 

Joe locked eyes with Q. "Maren. She's gone. We have no tour manager right now." 

Brian let out a snort across the table that was immediately met with dagger eyes from Joe. "Typical Maren. Things get tough and she decides to bail. Leaves me with this mess." He then kicked the empty chair next to him and stormed off. He was done with this whole damn day. The woman he loved turned out to be someone he didn't know after all and his career was officially going up in smoke.   
_______________________________  
Maren had arrived home in Jacksonville the previous night. After sending the letter to her now former-bosses she booked the first flight out of New York. There was only one person she knew could talk her down from having a full blown nervous breakdown. However arriving in Florida so late, the last thing she wanted was to be rude and show up in fear that she would already be sleeping.

When she woke up in her hotel room she didn't even wanna look at her phone. She was sure she had countless text messages, phone calls, and emails and decided against even turning her phone back on. She phoned down to the front desk to see if they could call her a cab to arrive in about 45 minutes. 

Maren smiled at her old neighborhood. It had been years since she had been back here but it hadn't changed a bit. The driver stopped in front of a tan house with white shutters. The garden was perfectly attended to, it always was.  She thanked the driver and made her way up the walkway towards the white door. The door opened after a few moments and she was met with a warm surprised smile. "Maren!" 

"Hi Millie." Maren smiled getting pulled into the older woman's embrace. 

"Oh my goodness! It's been years!" She exclaimed. "Come in, I will make us some tea, we will sit in the garden." 

Maren followed her inside shutting the door. Millie was her neighbor when she was a little girl and always looked after her. So many times when her parents would fight, Maren would sneak out and run to Millie's. She was always Maren's safe place. Maren offered to help in the kitchen but Millie wouldn't hear of it; instead she shooed Maren to the backyard. 

Maren took a seat and looked around. Millie was always an amazing gardener and her yard was filled with with the most beautiful flowers. She looked over and saw a couple hummingbirds feeding on the seed that Millie always made sure was stocked. She smiled, things here never changed. 

Millie set a tray of tea and cookies down. She reached over grabbing the younger woman's hand. "I have missed you." She smiled. 

Maren tried to keep her tears away but being with Millie again was bringing so many feelings to surface. This woman was there for her, sometimes more than her own mother had been before she had passed. "I'm sorry I haven't called recently." Maren chocked out. 

"Oh nonsense!" Millie laughed, "Busy New York girl now. I get all your gifts though. That painting you got me for Christmas was beautiful. I have it over the mantle." 

"Glad you like it." Maren smiled but Millie saw the sadness in the young woman's eyes. "What's wrong sweetheart?" 

Maren couldn't hold back anymore and let her eyes release all the tears they had been fighting to hold back. "I have messed up my whole life." She sobbed. 

Millie immediately pulled Maren in and let her cry it out. Once she felt Maren start to calm down she set out to get the whole story. Once Maren was finished explaining what had happened between Jason contacting her again, her magically trip with Brian, and then the mess they returned to, Millie sighed heavily. "I never liked that Jason. He always had dishonesty in his eyes." 

"I should have listened to you about him years ago." Maren responded. 

"Whats done is done my dear now all you can do is overcome this." She said in a warm way that only Millie Stevens could. "Now tell me about this Brian guy. Seems like you both had a great time in Key West. Mind you, I'm ignoring the fact that you were in Florida and didn't come visit me." She said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry, I didn't even know we were coming down here. The whole trip was a surprise." Maren replied. 

"I know." Millie smiled patting Maren's hand. "Now you said he was pretty upset about all of this?" 

"More than upset. The things he said to me..." She then let out a heavy breath, "God he absolutely hates me."

"If he didn't care about you my dear he wouldn't get so worked up. Remember how upset Donny used to get with me over silly things?" Millie said. 

Donny Stevens, Millie's late husband, was the best. When Maren's dad walked out, Donny picked up the pieces. He even gave Maren her first job in his antique shop when she was 14 years old. Having never had kids of their own, Millie had even asked Maren to give the eulogy at his funeral. It was tough but she was happy she did it. 

"Tell you what, let's get dinner tonight. You love that restaurant on the water. We can sit on the dock all night and drink bottles of wine if you’d like. Stay here tonight and then when you wake up tomorrow, figure out how you want to move forward." 

Maren nodded in agreement and gave Millie her best attempt at a real smile. She knew coming home was the right decision.


	32. And I Woke Up Just In Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co written with Hopedanglesonastring

"So," he said looking up from her resume and folio of work, "Have you heard of our show before?" Joe asked as the rest of the guys all looked towards Maren, awaiting her answer.

Maren smiled. She had rehearsed the answer to this question several times. While she had seen the television show, she wasn't a fan of it. Of course, she wouldn't tell them that.

"Of course! Are there people who haven't?" She chuckled looking around the room at the guys. She noticed little things about each of the then during her interview.

Murr kept looking at her cleavage, which wasn't even showing. Maren shrugged this off, it came with the territory. Next was Sal, who was very dialed into his cell phone, but was getting smacked under the table by Joe. Joe seemed to be the ringleader of all of the guys. The most grown up and in charge.

It was her second interview for the position of Tour Manager for The Tenderloins Comedy Troupe, who also had a very popular television show on TruTv called "Impractical Jokers." It was however her first time meeting the guys. Well, 3 of them. One of them was late.

"So you're aware of the type of comedy we do. Our live events are mostly clips of stuff that doesn't make air, and stories from behind the scenes. Things like that. I hate to say it but you’re basically going to be basically babysitting 4 grown men, managing logistics, our schedules, things like that,” Joe said placing her resume down and glancing toward the other guys.

Maren smiled and went to speak when the door to the conference room opened. 

"Sorry .. sorry guys, I'm sorry I'm late," flustered he quickly entered the room looking at the guys. His attention then turned to Maren as he reached out his hand. "You must be Maren, I'm Brian, Sorry I'm late," he said with a wink of his eye. Brian wasn't too keen on the idea of having a female tour manager. 

Maren wasn't too keen on the fact that this man was late to an interview, however she reached out and shook his hand. "Glad you could join us, nice to meet you!"

Several of the men snickered. Sal immediately put down his phone and looked over at Brian, with wide eyes and a grin. All the guys were now looking at Brian. Sal started to slow clap and Joe was now standing pretending to bow in Maren's direction. Maren just smiled and let out a small laugh. Brian narrowed his eyes on Maren and took a seat.

Murr spoke up first, "Well, with that I think you'll fit right in!"

"Maren.. Maren," Millie said waving her hand in front of Maren's face. Maren quickly snapped out of her daydream, and took a sip of the tea Millie poured her.

"Sorry Millie.. just a lot on my mind," she looked away embarrassed. "It's so peaceful here. I forgot how quiet everything is," Maren stated looking around. She was trying hard to enjoy the morning , still in her pajamas, listening to the sounds of birds chirping and nothing else.

Millie wasn't buying it though. She smiled at her as she took a seat on the patio across from her. "It's okay dear. I understand," she gently patted the top of Maren's hand. "Have you spoken to anyone this morning?"

Maren shook her head no, "I haven't even turned on my phone. I'm scared to. Those pictures Millie. I was so dumb." 

Millie shook her head, "Honey you are far from dumb. You're beautiful and trusting and have a humungous heart. Someone took advantage of that. That doesn't make you dumb. You opened your heart again to someone else right? That's bravery dear." Millie smiled at her gently. She watched as tears streamed down Maren's face. "People make mistakes honey. They say things they don't mean, they do things they don't mean. But you're a survivor. You always have been and that's not going to change at this point in your life."

Maren wiped away the tears that flooded her face, and nodded. "Thanks Millie. I love you." She said quietly.

Millie nodded, "You should at least let Kelsey or Bessy know where you are dear, they love you honey, and they are probably worried." Millie slid Kelsey the house cordless phone and got up from her chair to give her some privacy. Maren took another sip of tea and sighed.  
_________________________

Sal, Murr and Joe all were seated in the conference room at the TruTv offices. While shooting for the rest of the week was delayed until next week, the guys planned on getting together to run through some show ideas. However one joker was no where to be found.

Joe kept looking at his watch annoyed. He had had it with Brian Quinn. "I can't believe him. After all the bullshit yesterday, he can't even show up today?" 

Sal shook his head, "Forget him for the moment. I'm more concerned with Maren. Has ANYONE heard from her?" 

"Nope, her social media has been silent also, " Murr responded leaning back in his chair. He slowly threw a bawled up piece of paper up in the air and caught it a few times.

The meeting the previous day between the Network and the guys didn't go so well. Clearly they were disappointed in Brian's actions. Nothing negative happened however. As per usual, The Network chose to not release a comment on any of the guys personal lives. Luckily the charity decided not to drop them as co-chairs in light of the amount of money that was raised during the gala and another generous donation made from TruTv. Brian also agreed, at the bequest of the Network, to donate a weeks worth of his salary to the charity as well. The hotel was also conducting an internal investigation to see who was responsible for leaking the tape.

Sal sighed, "Alright look. Obviously we need to get Maren back. We cannot possibly have someone else take over before we head to Europe. What do we do Joe?" Sal asked nervously.

_________________________

In Staten Island, Brian was passed out on his couch, fully clothed even down to his boots. He had only stumbled home a few hours earlier, after drowning his sorrows in cheap whiskey and strippers.

It took Bryan Johnson several minutes of banging on Q's front door before it opened.

"Well, don't you look beautiful this morning," Bryan smiled as he made his way in the door. He had spoken to Brian the day before when all of the shit hit the fan, so he was pretty up to speed with things. He offered to hang with Brian the night before but his friend just wanted to be left alone.

Q gave him the middle finger as he walked back over to the couch and plopped down.

"Well, you can't use that on me. Sorry bud," Bryan shrugged as he walked to the kitchen. He grabbed a bottle of water and walked back over to where Brian was laid out on the couch. "Drink," he ordered to his friend.

Brian sat up and chugged some water. He immediately laid back down and put a pillow over his head. "Fuck, I can't believe this shit dude."

Bryan Johnson was one of Brian's oldest friends. He was also one of the cohosts of the TESD podcast they did together. Brian had gone through some pretty dark times in the past and Bryan Johnson was there for all of them.

"Not trying to be a dick, but specifically which part are you referring too?" Johnson questioned as he took a seat in the chair across from the couch in Q's living room. 

Brian threw the pillow across the room. "Well, I mean where would you like to start, the fact that Maren's naked ass is on display for the entire world to see.. oh oh I told her I loved her also, haven't told you that part, seems inconsequential at this point, considering oh.. yeah .. THERES PICTURES OF HER HAVING A THREESOME ALL OVER THE INTERNET!!" Brian got louder and angrier as he continued speaking.

Johnson just looked on as he continued his diatribe.

"So where would you like to start Bry? Or the fact that I'm ALSO all over the Internet having sex in an elevator while we were hosting a charity event. Or maybe there's the fact that my 3 best friends hate me. I dunno. Take your pick.." Brian spoke calmer at this point. He leaned over and took off his boots and petted Chessie cat who came over to see what all the commotion was about.

"So I can only imagine by how upset you are right now, that this was exactly how upset you were when you confronted her about it?" Johnson asked leaning back in the chair.

Brian leaned his head back and rubbed his head, "Yep." 

"It's not like you have a podcast where you talk about strippers and hooking up with married woman or anything like that..." Bryan shrugged.

Brian let out a sigh, "Dude, no. This is different."

Johnson interrupted, "Really, it's not. People make mistakes dude. You know that. Plus you know she loved this guy. She was 22. She just lost her mom. It's dumb don't get me wrong but you're in no position to judge anyone about dumb shit they’ve done in the past."

Brian looked at his friend, "I just.. I thought I loved her man. I don't know how I can look her or anyone in the face knowing the woman I loved, has had 2 guys at once and people, including my family can see those pics on the Internet. I'm not sure how I can get past this."

Bryan nodded. "I absolutely see your point. But I know you love her Q, or this wouldn't even be an issue." His friend shrugged.

Brian was silent for a few moments. "What now man? What happens now? The guys are pissed and the Network is pissed at me, Maren quit. I have no idea what to do man."

“I think you need to wake up,” said Johnson.  
_________________________

 

Maren peeked her head in the kitchen, where Millie was singing to herself and baking. The smell of peanut butter and oatmeal cookies, Maren's favorite, filled the air. "What cha doin?!" 

Millie jumped a little, "Ooh dear, you startled me. Feel better after your shower hun?" Millie asked as she scooped cookies off the baking sheet on to a cooling rack.

Maren smiled and nodded. "I do. I spoke with Kelsey and Bessy also and let them know I was okay, just needed some time and that I was back home."

Millie smiled and nodded, "So, what's your next step honey? You're welcome here for as long as you absolutely would like my dear!" 

Maren smiled as she walked to where Millie was standing and gave her a hug, "I love you so much Millie. Thank you for being there for me."

Millie hugged her back, "Always dear!" She said as she kissed her forehead.

Maren still cuddled into Millie's side as she grabbed a peanut butter cookie off the cooling rack, "I think I'm gonna head down to the Keys for a few days. Just lay on the beach and write. Pretend I’m a completely different person. Maybe I’ll go to sleep and wake up as a different person, I dunno." Maren bemused. She wasn’t sure if heading to the Keys was a good idea, she knew it would only make her think all the more of Brian. Maybe this was what she needed though.

Millie smiled as she checked on the batch of cookies in the oven, "That sounds like a great idea, dear. I'll be here when you get back!" Millie said with a wink.


	33. Now I Wake Up By Your Side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co written with Hopedanglesonastring

Joe slammed his laptop cover in total frustration. Executives had gotten word that Maren quit and took the liberty of emailing over some resumes for a new tour manager. Joe was home with baby Remo waiting for Bessy to get back from Milana's dance practice. As his son played on the floor, Joe flipped through some of them in case the worst happened and Maren didn't return. However he was growing frustrated with each passing minute. Q was still MIA as well and the weight of being manager less at the moment was starting to truly get to the usually laid back Joker. In addition to that he had two heartbroken friends that he didn't know what to do with. 

"Honey!" He heard his wife call out as he opened the front door. "Can you help me?" 

Joe got up from the couch and went to his wife's aid with the grocery bags. "Making your favorite for dinner, lasagna." Bessy Gatto smiled trying to somehow cheer her husband up. 

"Thanks babe." Joe smiled sadly. 

As they walked into the kitchen, two children fast on their heels asking for a snack, Bessy delivered what she hoped was good news, "Finally heard from Maren today." 

"You did?!" Joe asked excitedly. "And?!" 

"She says she's fine. She apologizes for disappearing but said she needed to get away from New York for a little while and clear her head. She's really embarrassed babe." Bessy said relying all the information she had gotten from her friend. 

"Did she happen to say when she's coming back?" Joe asked. 

"She wasn't entirely sure, my guess is at least a few days." Bessy answered as she peeled off a string cheese for the kids to share. 

"Has she heard from Q?" Joe asked. 

"She didn't say but I honestly doubt it." She said. "You know I love Q and I don't know exactly what he said to her but Maren sounded completely heartbroken. He's no saint either ya know!" 

Joe held up his hand as a way of begging his wife to stop. He knew Q was out of line but he was his friend nonetheless and also a man that lives his life on the defense. Brian Quinn was a man that deep down didn't believe he deserved happiness and was forever waiting for a good thing to go south. "Whatever is going on between Maren and Q on a personal level isn't our business." Joe said. 

"It is our business when it effects your career." Bessy said rolling her eyes then went back to putting away the groceries.   
________________________________  
Maren let out a relaxed sigh. She had arrived in Key West and already enjoyed a long amazing massage. When she called to book a room, she couldn't bring herself to stay at the same place she had with Brian. Instead she treated herself to a suite at the 24 North Hotel. A lot of people may had thought she was crazy for getting such an expensive room when she had just quit her job but her savings could handle it for the time being. 

After her massage she decided to stay in the spa area and go out to their private pool for spa clients only. It was midday and a lot of people were out enjoying Key West so there was hardly anyone there. Maren ordered the largest strawberry daiquiri and dove into her new book she had picked up at the airport. When she opened the first page and realized the main character's name she closed the book immediately. Jason. Dropping it down next to her lounge chair she rolled her eyes. Even though she had to take some responsibility for what happened, she was still so anger that he went this far. 

Those photos were something private that happened over 10 years ago. For the first year after her mom had died all Maren wanted to do was forget and have fun. That's when she met Jason and the two did a lot of partying. One night at a bar they met up with one of Jason's college buddies and unfortunately one thing led to another. She was drunk and high as a kite on ecstasy and it was a night that is still blurry to this day. However she was willing and at the time didn't oppose to the pictures being taken. But to actually give them to a tabloid was a new low, even for Jason. 

Even though her number one rule was to clear her head and try to relax, she couldn't help herself. So as Maren sat sipping on her daiquiri she grabbed her tablet and began researching attorneys back in New York. She was tired of Jason thinking he had the upper hand. There must be something that could be done about him selling these without her consent.   
_______________________________  
Welcome to Key West

For the first time Brian's stomach dropped when he saw the sign. Usually he was always happy to come down here but this time all he could think about was the last time he recently visited Florida's favorite getaway spot and what an amazing time he had. Taking Maren to all the different places, sharing so many personal intimate stories together, possessing her beautiful body over and over again, and most importantly telling her that he loved her. 

"Man I don't know about this." He said to Johnson as the cab drove them to their hotel. 

"Look I know your last time here was different but come on this is the one place we come to forget our troubles." Bryan Johnson encouraged. 

After seeing his friend more depressed and angry than he had in a very long time he made some quick decisions. His girlfriend, Mary Beth, was willing to help out with Sage for the next few days. He also called Sal and explained that he was taking Q to Key West for a few days, he needed his head cleared. Sal was frustrated at first with Q dipping out but after talking to Johnson he decided to cover for his friend and pray he came back refreshed and ready to put all of this behind him.  
________________________________  
Maren had briefly talked to an attorney who wanted to meet with her when she returned to New York. He wasn't sure if he would help her just yet but was eager to get more information and see what he could do. With that settled Maren felt her stomach start to growl and decided on some dinner. At first she was just going to get room service but then thought again. It was looking like such a beautiful evening and the thought of locking herself in her room was even more depressing than the original reason on why she was down here in the first place. So she set out to find somewhere to eat. She stumbled upon an Italian place right on the beach. She couldn't think of anything more perfect at the moment than a glass of sangria and giant plate of pasta. 

After ordering her meal she sipped her berry sangria and awaited her shrimp cocktail. The warm breeze off the ocean was calming but at the same time made her long for one person, Brian. Life was cruel sometimes, less than a week ago she was on this same stretch of beach feeling more in love with the person she would least expect. Now she was here, alone, hiding from a world that was doing nothing but judge and ridicule her. Brian had promised that they would stay in their little bubble even after returning to New York but the second things got tough, he bailed. Maren now knew what a liar and phony Brian Quinn was.  
________________________________  
"Up for Italian?" Bryan Johnson asked as him and Q sipped whiskey at the beach bar. 

Brian shrugged at his question. "Not really hungry." 

Bryan Johnson knew what happened when his friend drank too much when he was upset. The best course of action to lessen the effects of all the alcohol would be to get food in him. "Come on, I'm starving. We walk about a quarter of a mile up the beach there's that place, Salute. At least split some calamari with me." He insisted getting up off the stool and started to walk. 

"Just bill the room. Thanks." Brian said throwing some cash down for a tip to the bartender and taking off after his friend. 

As they walked in silence Brian couldn't stop thinking how different he felt last time he was here. Few days ago he was on top of the world confessing his love to a woman he thought could possibly be the one he had been waiting for. Now he was avoiding phone calls from his closest friends and family and licking his wounds of betrayal.

"You know the first night I was here with Maren, she asked me what I wanted outta life." Brian said finally talking since their walk began. Johnson didn't say a word; he knew his friend had to get something off his chest. "I never answered her." He added shaking his head. 

"Did you have an answer?" Johnson asked, his voice almost a whisper against the crashing sound of the waves. 

"Just to be happy." Brian answered. He stopped walking and looked out over the horizon. The sun was just about set and it reminded him of the sunsets he had watched with Maren and how he couldn't help but stare at her as she was watching. The way the setting light bounced off her beautiful tanned skin made her look even more breathtaking. 

He picked up a pebble that washed ashore and ran his thumb over it as he continued to speak. "I want someone in my life that I never have to question. That I know is being one hundred percent truthful with me. And when she asked me that, I really thought that I had finally found that person." The anger started to build in him again as he spoke, "Guess I was wrong." He said then took the pebble he was holding and whipped it so hard into the ocean out of frustration.   
______________________________  
They arrived at the restaurant and took a seat inside to avoid the more touristy crowd on the deck. They usually weren't bothered in Key West too much but it still happened from time to time. Johnson was happy because after chowing down in the calamari Q actually ordered a full meal. As they waited he tried to occupy Q's mind with a conversation about a new TESD project they had been planning. It seemed to work for a little while. 

Halfway through the meal, Q excused himself to the restroom. "Be right back buddy." 

Out on the deck, Maren had treated herself to a delicious cannoli. She laughed to herself thinking of Joe and his obsession with them. However she had to admit, they were pretty damn delicious. Her phone ringing pulled her from her thoughts. It was Kelsey. Their conversation the other day was much softer and Kelsey was back in best friend mode, leaving PR Kelsey at the door for the time being. Maren needed a friend and Kelsey knew it. " Hold on Kels, I'm outside on the deck and it's kinda loud. Let me head out front." She said answering the phone. 

Maren got up from her seat and made her way through the restaurant so she could hear her friend better on the front patio. 

Bryan Johnson was sipping his beer waiting for his friend to come back from the bathroom. As he looked around he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Maren walking through the restaurant. She looked to be on the phone and heading for the front door. Out of all the places to escape too and all the places to eat, what were the odds they would end up in the exact same place at the same exact time? 

Again Johnson had a quick decision to make. If he told Q she was here when he was in this state of mind, he would shoot off his mouth and say even more shit he was going to regret. The only option was to pretend he never saw her. As Maren walked by Johnson turned and ducked his head and let out a sigh of relief that Q was pretty drunk and probably taking the world's longest piss. 

Maren looked to be gone when Q returned and started to finish his food. "Excuse me?" A voice came from a nearby table. "Are you Q from Impractical Jokers?" A beautiful and clearly drunk girl asked. 

Brian smiled at the girl and winked, "Yes I am. Buy you a drink honey?" He had a rule that he never slept with fans but there was no harm in a little drunk flirting with one to ease a broken heart.


	34. My One and Only

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co written with Hopedanglesonastring

Sorry, it was loud in there. Hi!, Maren said happy to be hearing from her best friend.

"Where might here be exactly?" Kelsey inquired. Running late to a meeting earlier this morning, she and Maren weren't able to speak too long.

"Decided to head home. I went and saw Millie. I just want to take some time process everything," Maren explained. "Needed some room to breathe and figure out what's next." 

Kelsey was going through some paperwork on her desk but was nodding agreement. "I'm glad you went to see Millie. I'm glad you're taking some 'me' time. I do love you, you know that. I’m sorry if it seemed like I wasn’t being your friend. I love both of you, so this has been a hard spot for me to be stuck in.”

Maren was casually swinging slowly on the floating bench on the restaurants porch, happy to hear Kelsey’s voice. “I know, I’m sorry also. ,” Maren responded with remorse. It was the first time her and Kelsey talked a out snag happened as friends, not coworkers. However it didn't take long before things took the turn towards work. 

The line was silent for a few seconds before Kelsey took a deep breath and began a line of questioning she knew Maren didn't want to discuss. "So... you quit." It wasn't so much a question as it was a statement.

"I did." Maren’s mood changed quickly. She wasn’t ready to have this conversation. “Also, Brian and I are over. And I have a meeting with a lawyer, because I'm not going to let Jason get away with this. So, I think you're pretty up to speed now on everything." Maren glanced over through the front window of the restaurant. She did a double take when she noticed someone who looked like Bryan Johnson. The cold chill of fear flowed through her body as she craned her neck to try to get a better view. She finally took a breathe when she shook it off as crazy and turned her attention back to Kelsey on the other line.

"Maren please give this some thought. The guys would be lost without you. You're amazing at your job. Don't throw it all away ov.."

Maren interrupted her, "Over what Kels? Brian? It's not over him. Listen I have to go, I'm actually at a restaurant having dinner. I'll talk to you soon," she said politely and with that she hung up.

Heading back inside she made headed towards the restroom. “Can you believe it's him? He's by FAR the hottest of all of them," an overly excited shrieking voice came from over one stall.  
"My brother LOVES that show!" girl number two exclaimed equally enthralled.

Maren rolled her eyes and slightly chuckled. No matter how far away she tried to get from her job, it still seemed to follow her. Fangirls. She could spot them a mile away, so it was funny to hear these two girls freaking out over someone ‘probably’ famous at the bar.   
Before the last few "scandals" with Brian, many Impractical Jokers fans didn't know who she was. She would be at the bar after a show or in a bathroom or comedy club and constantly would hear the banter. Clearly that all changed once photos of her and Brian at the bar thah night hit the World Wide Web. The banter between the two girls brought her back to the days when she and Brian disliked each other. It sadly made her wonder if it was all worth it. 

Once Maren paid the check she decided to take a stroll down Duval Street, when a small lounge caught her eye.  
________________________________

Bryan leaned his chair back and crossed his arms across his chest. Brian was watching her walk away, his body and head turned completely away from where Johnson was l,taking it all in.

Brian couldn't hide the devilish grin on his face as he turned back around to face his friend. Over the years Bryan Johnson came to be very familiar with this version of Q. The despondent, scorn (either by a woman or a business deal gone bad), doesn't-give-a-fuck Q. Bryan wasn't going to let that Q win tonight. Unlike the others, Johnson normally didn't care what Brian did in his personal life. It was his life and Bryan often enjoyed watching Brian score supermodel after beauty queen, after pin up girl. Selfish? Maybe. But Bryan Johnson lived vicariously through his better looking, more famous friend. Where he drew the line however, was when he knew Q would regret it in the morning, and that's exactly what was going to happen if they didn't leave before the girls came back from the restroom.

"Don't even think about. Let's go, we're done." Bryan spoke with a sharpness and while Q wanted to tell his friend to fuck of, he knew he was right.

"Whaaat?!" Brian asked shrugging it off. "It's just a drink dude. Come on, just let me live,” Brian said chugging down the rest of his beer.

Standing to his feet, Bryan took out his wallet and threw some cash down on the table. "Let's go," he repeated, heading towards the door. 

"Alright, Alright.. always bustin my balls man," Brian shoved his hands in his pockets and mumbled under his breathe following behind his friend.  
________________________________  
The sweet aroma of vanilla and patchouli danced under her nose as she stood out front, looking through the window of a small little building off the main drag of Duval Street, named "Atmos Inspire." A band was currently playing a beautiful acoustic version of Madonna's "Like a Prayer" and she instantly smiled. Maren was 9 when she and her mother would dance around the living room to this song. 

Excited to see what was awaiting her inside, she walked through the front door to a beautiful, cozy looking lounge. String lights were dangling from the ceiling, providing a beautiful glowy atmosphere. It was very reminiscent of her favorite spot in the city, Haven. "Wow, really can't seem to get away from New York either apparently" she smiled to herself. 

Settled in to a beautiful plush maroon armchair, Maren ordered a specialty cocktail and relaxed as she glanced around the room. On the small end table next to her, she noticed the lounge was hiring for a Social Media/Marketing /PR consultant. Intrigued, she went to grab for the placard but was interrupted by the waitress bringing her cocktail. Maren noticed someone was about to take the stage. He was a tall guy probably in his 20s with long blonde hair. He was very much the surfer type, so the poetry he read aloud came as a slight surprise. Maren always loved people telling their stories. She found incredible inspiration in knowing she wasn't alone in the world, that there were other feeling the same way she does sometimes. That everyone is just trying their best. It wasn't long before Maren found herself headed towards the stage, speaking with the pink player off towards the side. ‘Poetic’ she thought as she waited her turn, ‘That first night Brian heard me sing. I guess this is kinda like my goodbye  
Once the clapping ended for the small, timid brunette who just finished reading a poem, Maren took the stage and adjusted the microphone stand.

"Hi, I'm Maren," her voice cracked as she began to sing...

Little voices in my head  
Secret keeping, stop the bleeding  
Lost a little weight because I wasn't eating  
All the songs that I can't listen to, to tell the truth  
Loving you was young, and wild, and free  
Loving you was cool, and hot, and sweet  
Loving you was sunshine, safe and sound  
A good place to let down my defenses  
But loving you had consequences

Hesitation, awkward conversation  
Running on low expectation  
Every siren that I was ignoring  
I'm payin' for it

ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh  
Loving you was dumb, dark and cheap  
Loving you will still take shots at me  
Found loving you was sunshine, but then it poured  
And I lost so much more than my senses  
'Cause loving you had consequences

There wasn't much of a crowd since it was the middle of the week, but the sound of whistles and clapping for her performance made her blush. For the first time in a while, she felt some relief. Heading to the Keys might just have been the best thing Maren has done for herself in a while.

________________________________

“What was the point of you bringing me down here if you aren’t gonna let me try to forget about the bullshit? I don’t need you busting my balls either. Let me fucking be the ‘Q’ playboy everyone thinks I am?” Brian stewed in silence for a little while before his pent up frustrations boiled over. He became slightly animated, shrugging his arms in annoyance.

Bryan continued walking along the toddler his friend just morphed into. It only made Q all the more aggravated the quieter Bry stayed.

“Ya know what.. fuck it dude,” he threw his hands up in defeat and went to to walk away when he stopped short and nudged Bryan’s arm.  
“Wait, I swear I just heard Maren,” he looked around quickly wondering if he was absolutely losing his mind, “Singing.. do you hear.. ,” he looked over at Bry and quickly realized it could have been the several shots of whiskey and beer he’s consumed this evening. 

Johnson could not believe the shit pile he was stepping in to by offering to help his friend. Plus he was slightly insulted Q took her to his and Q’s getaway spot, but that was besides the point.

“You have no idea how much I hate you right now. It’s the Jameson. And I don’t believe Maren was ever a contestant on American Idol, so...” Johnson was a man of very few emotions. He excelled at being annoyed and the look on his face definitely didn’t hide anything.

“This was a bad idea. We should have never came here. She’s everywhere here now. I look around and this place isn’t the same as it was,” Brian was exasperated and much quieter now. You could hear the sorrow in his voice as he realized Maren could really be done with him. “There’s now a ‘before’ and an ‘after’ Maren Mulligan.”

Johnson raised his eyebrow, “You make a decent point Quinn, but you fail in realizing you’re the reason for the ‘after’.” Bry went to walk past his friend and patted him playfully on the shoulder. Thankfully much to Bry’s relief, Brian started following him, leading him away from where Johnson for sure heard Maren’s voice singing

“Yep. I’m an asshole. But so are you cause we never should have come here.” he began walking along next to Johnson, attempting to try to find some humor in the dumpster fire his life had spiraled in to.

Johnson shrugged, “You brought the new love of your life to OUR spot,” he mocked emphasizing the ‘our’.” “I mean. I thought we were boyz with a Z,” he lamented jokingly.

“You’ll always be my first though,” Q deadpanned as both men laughed and relaxed. 

The ‘old’ Q Bry was hoping to coax back to life finally started to show. Now he needed to get him the hell out of Key West before the inevitable happened.  
_______________________________

It didn’t take long before the laidback nature, beauty and peacefulness of the island began to ground Maren. She spent the last few days riding a bike, the hotel arranged for her, around exploring the small island. When she wasn’t out and about admiring the way people who lived on an island, well.. lived, you’d find her on a beach, soaking in the sun while inhaling the oceans salty air. It was the medicine her heart needed to begin to heal. The salve that was treating the burn wounds on her soul. 

It became apparent to Maren the night she sat out on the beach, it was magic hour , and the memories of their first night together in the Keys came flooding back. Maybe that night she thought gave ‘magic hour’ new meaning, actually wasn’t because of Brian, but because of this place? It definitely felt safe from the outside world. A million miles from reality. Notebook by her side, her plan was to write and purge her system of the millions of thoughts that have been screaming through her head the last few days.

It was all too much though, and the tears she hadn’t yet cried since everything, as in reality, set in, overflowed from her eyes and down her face. And when it was over, there was a peace that was a new feeling for Maren. Millie was right, she was a survivor. That wasn’t going to change at 39 years old. This is life, not a fairytale. He was right after all. But it was her life and if she was the one who needed to give herself the fairytale, she would. 

She opened her journal as the words flowed from her pen...  
Rain came pouring down when I was drowning  
That's when I could finally breathe  
And that morning, gone was any trace of you, I think I am finally clean

It was a full 3 days in Key West though, before Maren actually smiled for the first time since her world turned upside down. She found herself on the southwest side of the island, on a quiet small street along the water. Butterflies fluttered by and chickens inhabited the streets. She giggled thinking how perfect it all was. As most things in Key West, bright colors were a part of the island, and on this street it was no different. There were several beautiful brightly colored cottages on each side of the road, far enough away from one another. 

One cottage in particular was, she was convinced, made of fairytales. It was a small pastel yellow and white trimmed Victorian style cottage from the 1920s. The porch was small but the perfect size for the swing bench that occupied it. Off to the side of the house was a small but tranquil garden. Maren couldn’t believe it was real. She was so caught up in the intricate little details like the cobblestone trail that lead to the front door, and the beautifully manicured landscape, that she hadn’t even noticed the ‘For Sale’ sign. The dreamer in her couldn’t help but wonder if this was more than just a sign advertising the sale of a house.

“Hi, I’d like to speak to someone about a house you have listed?”

To Be Continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright friends! This is the completed Dress. But don’t worry we won’t leave you hanging for too long! Be on the look out for the next installment of Maren and Brian, Beautiful Crazy, coming soon! 
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading and we will see you soon!


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